According to statistics from the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the number of hotel guests staying in Abu Dhabi increased by 4.9 percent during the first five months of 2018 compared to the same period last year. The United States is leading year-over-year growth at 25.7 percent, accounting for 82,300 guests. Overall, DCT Abu Dhabi reports that 162 hotels, resorts and hotel apartments offering 31,236 rooms across the emirate welcomed 2,073,586 guests from January to May.
Occupancy rate averaged 75 percent during the same period (January to May), with a 1.4 percent increase, while the average length of stay was 2.7 nights, an increase of 2.4 percent. China topped all visitors, recording 192,500 visitors, an increase of 19.9 percent; India came in second with 166,700 guests and a 22.2 percent increase, followed by: The U.K. with 119,900 travelers amounting to a 12.7 percent increase, the United States with 82,300 guests and a 25.7 percent increase, and Germany with 71,300 guests at a 20 percent increase.
Abu Dhabi continued its strong performance across most of its target markets in May, compared to the same month of last year, with a 7 percent growth in the number of visitors from India, followed by the UK at 7.9 percent, the United States at 42 percent and Germany at 35 percent.
Domestic tourism rose by 7.9 percent during the first five months of 2018 with 1,489,154 hotel guests received, compared to 1,371,327 during the same period in 2017.
Growth indicators included the three regions of the emirate, with an 8.6 percent increase in Al Dhafra at a total of 63,471 guests, 5.3 percent in Abu Dhabi with 1,833,348 guests received and 1 percent in Al Ain with 176,767 guests.
Abu Dhabi’s tourism and hospitality sector is growing following the Executive Committee’s approval of DCT Abu Dhabi’s proposal to cut tourism and municipal fees, implementing a reduction from 6 percent to 3.5 percent for tourism fees; a drop of 4 percent to 2 percent for municipality fees, and lowering the municipal fee for each hotel room from AED15 (approximately $4.08) to AED10 (approximately $2.72).
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