UAE to add nearly 27,000 new hotel rooms by 2030
The development of the tourism and hospitality sector climbed higher by 26 per cent and represented 11.7 percent of the Emirates’ Gross Domestic Product in the previous year
Looking forward, the country is furthering the hospitality sector’s growth pursuits and by 2030 26,832 new hotel rooms are expected to come online in addition to a 12.7 percent recover in 2024 which will take the total number of hotel rooms to 238,412, according to global property consultancy Knight Frank’s annual report.
Permanent expansion operations will be required since Knight Frank shall provide this for wider growth within furthering the vision of the government to achieve 40 million tourists by the year 2030. Two-third of the new supply, or 17750 hotel rooms will come up in Dubai which is actively developing the most.
The tourism and hospitality sector grew by 26 per cent, a contribution in terms of the GDP of the economy of the Emirates by 11. 7 percent in the year 2023 taking in the record of Dh219 billion of dollar 59.8 billion. E –economy One initiative Mendoza accompanied the introduction indicates the prospect targeting an increase in this number to one hundred today.
According to STR data cited by Knight Frank, between January and July 2024, the UAE recorded a remarkable performance of 76 per cent average hotel occupancy rate – the best in the region. This figure was matched by revenue per available room which averaged $131 which is 7.4 percent higher than the same period of 2023.
Likewise, average daily room rate moved up by 5 percent to $172, and average occupancy levels rose by 2 percentage points to 76 percent over the same period last year. “Tourism and hospitality have always been and continue to be the backbone of the economy of the UAE.
This is best reflected in that last seen in 2023, the sector supported 809,000 employment opportunities at the national level, which during 2022 was an increase of 5.3 percent.
This means, one in every nine employment opportunities in the country is within that sector, illustrating the strategic importance of the hospitality and tourism domain,” reiterated Faisal Durrani, partner, Mena Head of Research at Knight Frank.
“There is, however, no doubt that many more hotel projects will be revealed in Dubai as the D33 Agenda is implemented, especially if it is to meet its aim of emerging as one of the top 3 tourist and business city by 2033.
As of now, the city already offers more than 151,000 rooms. In the future, the Palm Jebel Ali and Dubai Islands, which together have the potential for 160 hotels and resorts, will be among the key contributors of the 2033 vision for Dubai,” he said.
Knight Frank has reported that 69 percent of the existing hotel supply in the region falls into the luxury, upper upscale and upscale hotel class categories which stress the need for the ongoing expansion of more mid-low hotel accommodation to serve all price ranges.
About 67 percent of the current supply consists of internationally branded operators with local operators accounting for 24 percent. In 2030, 82 percent of the hotel supply in the country will be managed under international brands and only 10 percent will be occupied by local brands, or so Knight Frank forecasts.
The two largest operators in the UAE’s hotel market, Accor and Marriott International manage more than 46000 keys in the country and have another 5400 keys under construction to be completed in 2030.
Dubai
There is no country better known for its luxurious accommodation than Dubai, where one can count, inter alia, approximately 52,950 hoppos RMS hotelrooms 5 star and 14 Michelin restaurants.
“Today, the emirate has just above 151420 hotel keys, this is even higher than London or New York, whereas hotel occupancy rates have been the highest as shown in the world with 77 percent between January and July 2024,” says Mr. Turab Saleem who is the partner; business development - hospitality, tourism and leisure advisory, MEA, Knight Frank.
The Waitrose and its satisfaction customers supposedly don’t place much value on Seychellois islands as most vans have been imported into the islands, rather from Dubai.
Even so, this helped them climb up the ladder of major contributors within the tourism sector and entertain in and outside Emirates since their famous ever Airlines provided rapid service from and to Dubai since it contributes a lot in promoting tourism it does not bring about much leisure.
The Dubai International Airport has since 2023 been the busiest airport in the world by both the movements of and passing through and in 2023 alone the air cargo center has handled 86.9 million of passenger traffic,” Oussama El Kadiri partner, hospitality, tourism and leisure advisory MEA, Knight Frank 2023.
“The lure to repeat visitors is found in how Dubai is expended in reinventions, a scenario that is absent with most cities across the globe.”
As per Knight Frank, its Bangkok office might add another 17,750 rooms by 2030.
Also in Dubai, STR Global noted that the ADR rose 3.9% to Dh679 between January and July while average occupancy held steady at 77%. As a result, there was a 6.1% increase in RevPAR to Dh569.
Daniel Pugh, Partner – Head of Hospitality Service & Leisure Valuation & Advisory Knight Frank said, “February 2015 will go down in history as one of the key dates in the history of development of this region, as the official announcement of two historic twin announcements was made in April this year to move all the air traffic from Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum International Airport and also the construction of the mega 35 billion dollar airport took off.
There are plans for more than 17,750 additional rooms which will push the ending tally to 169,165 keys by 2030 and with what the city possesses today in terms of global markets, world-class attractions and superior infrastructure, Dubai is bound to become further enthralled.”
The analysis from Knight Frank also includes the Accor Hotel Group which is forecasted to emerge as the leading hotel operator in Dubai with 17380 rooms under existing management and another 2700 keys are expected by 2030. Coming in second place is Marriott International with 16620 existing rooms and 704 under construction scheduled for completion by 2030.
The city of Abu Dhabi on the other hand has a much bigger development pipeline of 37148 keys while Ras Al Khaimah is likely to have an additional 8764 new rooms before the end of the decade.
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