More than 275 hotels and apart-hotels in Dubai are located less than two kilometers from the five largest shopping centers of the emirate. This is evidenced by data from a study by Reed Travel Exhibitions, the organizer of the Arabian Travel Market 2013 international tourism exhibition, which will be held at the Dubai World Trade Center from May 6 to 9, 2013.
"An original study was conducted to find out the growth indicators of the urban tourism industry over the past 20 years and the parallel expansion of the retail market. This is very symbolic in the light of the 20th anniversary of our exhibition. We calculated the number of hotels and apartments that are within a radius of two kilometers of the largest shopping malls, or five minutes by taxi, "said Mark Walsh, project director for Reed Travel Exhibitions.
According to Alpen Capital, retail sales in the Persian Gulf region will grow to 270 dirhams (US $ 73.7 billion) by 2016, thanks in large part to the growth in the tourism and hospitality sectors. The best evidence of the growth of the retail industry is Dubai, where the largest regional shopping centers are located - The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Al Ghurair Center, Burjuman Center and Deira City Center. At the end of 2011, 387 hotels and 188 apart-hotels were registered in Dubai, of which 48% are located near one of these shopping complexes, which indicates how synchronously the related tourism and retail industries are developing in Dubai.
Another interesting fact, revealed as a result of the study, is that from 2005 to 2008, when the Mall of the Emirates, Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai Festival City and The Dubai Mall were opened, the number of hotels in Dubai also increased 40% - from 371 to 519. Only in 2007-2008 the number of hotels grew by 17%. Today, Dubai's real estate market, which has experienced a sharp rise, followed by a subsequent fall, which began in 2009, has begun a gradual recovery. So, according to Alpen Capital, the average room occupancy in Dubai hotels has grown to 80%, and the average daily revenue per room was US $ 228, which is one of the highest rates in the world. It should be noted that in 2012, 2436 exhibitors were presented at the Arabian Travel Market exhibition, the total number of visitors exceeded 23 thousand people.
