The UAE is trying to attract more tourists by engaging in strategic measures like offering value for money packages. The hospitality sector had a very successful five years but 2009 is proving to be difficult. There has been a slowdown in both the UAE and in its key source markets such as European countries, and especially in the United Kingdom. Another problem is that the UAE dirham is pegged to a strong dollar, making the UAE an expensive destination for travelers from the UK.
CEO of Alpha Tours, Gassan Aridi, said the average decline in visitors around the globe is about 4 percent although in the UAE the number of visitors is growing about 3 percent per month. He said the drop in occupancy rate in the UAE is the result of a bigger inventory of rooms. The UAE is adding more than 20,000 rooms per year, “But we still maintain the highest occupancy in Asia-Pacific followed by Hong Kong and Sydney.”
