DUBAI - Hotel room shortage hurts tourism

Gulf News, 9-25-2006

Overseas tour operators are cancelling holidays to Dubai because there is a shortage of hotel rooms to accommodate guests.

Dubai: Overseas tour operators are cancelling holidays to Dubai because there is a shortage of hotel rooms to accommodate guests, according to government officials. Figures released by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) reveal that Dubai currently supplies 30,000 hotel rooms (with a further 8,000 hotel apartments) and is expecting to add 18,000 more rooms in the next two years. Although substantial investments have been made into the emirate by leading hotel chains, the construction time-span has seen supply rates dip below accelerating demand, resulting in substantial untapped tourist dollars.

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