Comment: ​​Martijn Zengerink on Dubai’s tourism boom

The industry’s quick recovery has made hoteliers agile, says the Crowne Plaza Dubai Jumeirah hotel operations manager 

After a challenging year for the tourism industry, the long-awaited opening of Expo 2020 Dubai was a much-needed catalyst for the emirate’s economic recovery.

The boom in tourism is evident from the high occupancy rates and hotels bouncing back to pre-pandemic rates. STR reported record-high ADR following the opening of Expo 2020 with rates hitting AED776 and occupancy levels of 81.6%, with many hotels reaching full capacity.  

The quick recovery of the hotel industry challenges hoteliers to be agile and adapt to the dynamic market

Not only was the surge in demand hard to accurately predict, the geo source and lead time of the markets travelling to Dubai has also changed drastically. At Crowne Plaza Dubai Jumeirah, we see a lead time of approximately nine days, compared to 45 days in previous years.

Expo 2020 Dubai launched around the time the city was also expecting a boom from sports tourism with major events happening in this quarter, such as the IPL, Rugby 7s and T20 World Cup. The various attractive events in Dubai meant the city was able to rebound faster than other destinations, reaching close to 2019 demand levels.

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Some significant factors that contributed to the successful opening of Expo 2020 Dubai are the preventative measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic to help boost the country’s status as a safe travel destination, despite the pandemic continuing globally.

At Crowne Plaza Dubai Jumeirah, we reached a consistent 100% occupancy for three weeks after the opening of Expo 2020. Revenue across all F&B outlets exceeds 2019 and total F&B profitability increased by 23% in October compared to 2019.

For our property, Expo 2020 Dubai is living up to the occupancy and revenue projections and we expect this trend to continue with the upcoming festive season.

For more information, visit www.crowneplaza.com