Sharjah expects to attract more investment in the emirate’s tourism sector that will help to add around 3,000 new hotel rooms in the next four years, according to a top government official. 

The total number of hotel and hotel apartment rooms reached 9,123 (5,191 hotel rooms and 3,932 hotel apartment rooms) in 2011, recording a six per cent increase over 2010 as per a report in Khaleej Times by Abdul Basit.

“The emirate expects to increase the number of hotel rooms in the emirate to go up to 12,000 over the next four years, with a focus on 5 star and 3 star hotels and beach resorts,” the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) chairman Mohamed Ali Al Noman said in a statement.

Year 2011 recorded an increase in the occupancy rate of the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments and the emirate attracted total 1.56 million tourists, according to the statistics released by SCTDA during the ongoing International Tourism Bourse in the German capital Berlin. “We will ensure complete cooperation with all government and private agencies to ensure investment environment is safe and things go off smoothly and swiftly for everyone concerned,” Al Noman said.    

The hotel occupancy rate in the emirate over the past year stood at 76 per cent. Sharjah’s hotels received 843,676 guests in 2011 whereas they had recorded 774,651 guests in 2010. Hotel apartments received 719,193 guests in 2011 whereas they recorded had 782,234 guests the year before.

Hotel apartments recorded 71 per cent occupancy last year compared to 70 per cent in 2010.  The overall occupancy of hotels and hotel apartments in the emirate has been put at 74 per cent in 2011.

The chairman Mohamed Ali Al Noman said that the positive outlook shows that the strategy and efforts to promote the unique character and features of Sharjah’s touristic product are working and showing results.  “Our objective is to put the emirate in the league of the world’s top and most popular tourism destinations and double the number of tourists visiting the emirate annually,” he said.

The total number of room nights in Sharjah’s hotels and hotel apartments rose to 1,804,530 in 2011, with hotel room nights accounting for 1,026,934 and hotel apartment room nights accounting for 777,596. 

This can be compared to 1,537,765  room nights in 2010 with 806,401 hotel rooms and 731,364 hotel apartment rooms, a 17 per cent increase from 2010.

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