The Dubai hospitality industry is set to grow exponentially with thousands of hotel rooms joining the market in recent years. Add to that theme parks and restaurants and the influx of tourists due to the World Expo that happened in 2021/22. The hospitality industry in Dubai is showing signs of quick recovery after the devastating impact of the covid-19 pandemic. In this post, we provide an overview of the hospitality industry in Dubai.
If you are planning to travel to Dubai or work in Dubai in the hospitality industry, you are with the tide. It is due to this growth that even hospitality Jobs in Dubai have seen a dramatic rise in the past decade.
Travellers have flocked to the city and the hospitality industry of Dubai has seen new heights in the past decade. So, what’s in store for the hospitality industry of Dubai in the next few years? Dubai Expo happened in 2021 after a one-year delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We have a lot of information about the Hospitality industry of Dubai in this post. Let’s explore more.
Dubai Hospitality Industry Overview
Dubai; a shopper’s haven, an adventure lover’s must-visit destination, a cultural dynamism hub and where the impossible is possible, with such a distinguished hotel industry, is it the new world?
If you speak about hospitality industry sectors, Dubai can be considered as one of the few cities which has the best mix. Whether you consider the entertainment sector, or the theme parks or the food service industry, Dubai is excelling in the same. But, the biggest of them all is turning out to be the hotel industry.
- With the number of rooms soaring beyond the proverbial 100,000 mark, Dubai’s hotel and hospitality sector are poised for greatness.
- Over 15 million overnight visitors are being welcomed by Dubai every year.
- Over 400,000 jobs are supported by the Hospitality and Travel industry in Dubai
A lot of amazing hotels and restaurants in Dubai are a testimony to the sustained growth of the hospitality industry in Dubai.
Did you hear that Dubai’s Hotel industry might see a slump after the World Expo 2020? You might be grossly mistaken.
According to the Gulf News report, KPMG’s studies reveal that the Hotel industry of Dubai would sustain well after the World Expo 2020. This study would certainly take a hit due to the slowdown imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. But there is much more to Dubai hospitality industry than just hotels.
Innovative hospitality projects, several theme parks, medical tourism are among a few catalysts that would help sustain the hospitality industry of Dubai in future.
At the moment, the industry’s motivation is to firmly and strategically position itself among the leading ten global destinations where room availability isn’t a problem.
And, the recent happenings including the achievement of such a worthy feat indicates a spur in the number of international tourists.
It isn’t the number of hotels alone that is making Dubai’s hotel industry a rapidly burgeoning sector.
Key Statistics for the hospitality industry in Dubai
Hotel Jobs in Dubai are becoming easier to come by. Just this year, over 5000 rooms are being added to the hospitality sector.
So, if you are looking for hospitality jobs in Dubai, you have a better chance to get into this new hospitality world.
Read on to know more about the Dubai Hospitality industry before you start looking for job opportunities in Dubai.
Are you aware of the current number of rooms in the hotel industry of Dubai?
- 64,200 rooms were available in 2015 in the emirates according to the figures from real estate investment and advisory firm JLL.
- The revised estimated growth in 2019 was in excess of 5,000 rooms.
- The number had already touched the magical 100,000 figure in the first quarter of 2017 if we include the Hotel apartments.
- While this growth is substantial it will only become greater in 2023, adding close to 10,000 rooms each year.
You probably know that a gigantic number of the planet’s crème de la crème hospitality facilities are right in the heart of this thriving economy.
But it is the ever-expanding leisure, events and attractive locations that are partly to blame.
The fast-rising demand for skilled labour-force is, without a doubt, the best testament that indeed Dubai hospitality industry is gravitating towards greatness.
The emirate is a destination known for her massive oil and gas volumes, but the tide is subtly changing. The country’s hotel sector is literally driving the job market as some of her oil reserves continue to wane.
Not even the presence of such names as Burj Al Arab, Waldorf Astoria, Burj Khalifa, The Ritz-Carlton, One&Only Royal Mirage and the many star-studded names can stop the emergence of other new hotels in Dubai or in UAE in general.
Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental hotel is the latest name, same as Starwood.
So, speak about any of the top hotel chains in the world, you would fin their presence in Dubai.
And, with the entrance of such notable brands, the hospitality industry in Dubai is slowly taking over the world by storm.
This wouldn’t come as a surprise that now Dubai is considered to be one of the Global cities in hotel supply.
How attractive has been Dubai for Tourists?
The Dubai hospitality market has a lot to attribute to it’s founding success this year.
- An estimated 50 million people visited the Gulf region in 2015, allowing the Middle East to outperform most of the other regions.
According to the Official Website of Travel and Tourism of Dubai.
- The contribution of Travel and Tourism to UAE’s GDP is over 10%
- The emirates of Dubai saw over 14.9 Million overnight visitors in 2016 and there has been an increase till the downfall in 2020 due to the Pandemic.
Another issue for the Dubai Hospitality market was the “sudden and dramatic fall in the oil price has led to a decrease in high spending visitors to the region as well as the devaluation of the euro against the dollar has led to a drop in visitors in the Eurozone.” –Philip Shepard, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
What is in the future for the Dubai Hospitality industry?
Budget hotels would need more budget-friendly rooms over high-end rooms in order to attract and diversify the options for budget-conscious tourists. Also, the focus should be on an enhanced customer experience using technology in an effective manner.
However, the same is not the case with mid-market hotels. Given the demand, investors can expect double-digit investment (of around 10 to 12 per cent each year) with the right product and the right location.
While current occupancy for the area may be estimated lower for the coming months, the forecast shows a dramatic increase in tourism for the next few years.
Whether you love wild desert adventures, basking, parties, tours down the Emirate’s historic location, fun at the sporting centres or anything, Dubai is far much more than just that.
Along with the limitless of unexplored historical features, Dubai is celebrated for being the planet’s major shopping hub.
Warm weather throughout the year and a plethora of leisure and relaxation amenities offer a perfect excuse to fly there, as well.
From IMG’s haunted hotel in the theme park to Luxury Floating homes and everything in between is what can be expected out of the hotel industry of Dubai.
And while the hospitality sector in Dubai may appear a bit sophisticated, it is said to be as simple as browsing the web.
Luxury hotels of all types, similar to boutique hotels, budget hotels and those with the region’s authentic touch colour the mainstream.
But that is not the real news as the country’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing expects more brands to set camp in the near future.
As per reports from Deloitte consulting, Dubai was targeting over 20 million tourists annually by 2020, a factor that is pushing the industry to the limits. Dubai Hospitality Industry is set to see new heights in the future. The government is doing all it can to make the dream a reality, and so far, the results are impressive.
With 2017’s hotel occupancy growth of a whopping 77%, achieving the 20 million tourists figure by 2020 wasn’t so hard but the Covid-19 pandemic spoiled the show. Expect the number to be achieved in 2022 if things go as pet the plan.
But so far, it is safe to mention that Dubai hospitality industry is the new world in every sense of it!
So, whether you looking for hospitality jobs in Dubai or are travel enthusiasts, the hospitality industry in Dubai might have a fair share of your time and career in the future.
