Dubai has an estimated 6,300 hotel rooms slated to open in the luxury segment over the next five years, bringing the Emirate's total to approximately 28,800, according to the latest stats from STR.
At the same time, Dubai's upper-upscale and upscale pipeline has 20,000 rooms set to open, bringing the total to 60,000 in the next five years.
Debrah Dhugga, managing director of the new Dukes Dubai, which opened last week on the Palm Jumeirah, told The National that the current shortage of rooms in these segments will keep room rates steady throughout 2017. "With the Expo 2020, there’s going to be a huge increase in business and in occupancy as more investments come in," she said.
Source Markets
The healthy Asian source market is poised to support this segment, thanks to the new ability of Chinese nationals to get their visas upon arrival. With its London counterpart, the new Dukes hotel expects to attract the UK market as well as corporate travelers from India, Saudi Arabia, China and Japan.
The Waldorf Astoria on the Palm--which currently sees strong numbers from the UK, the Arabian Gulf, Germany and Scandinavia--also expects to see more visitors from both India and China this year.
"The Middle East is an important market for the luxury hospitality industry," Hatem Chatter, senior director for Middle East at Leading Hotels of the World, told The National. "It definitely falls under the ‘grow’ category...where despite the challenges, the market still continues to flourish and we are positive for 2017 as well."