United Arab Emirates Tourism Report Q3 2012: New research report available at Fast Market Research

Aug. 22, 2012 - PRLog -- The UAE Tourism Report considers the recent performance of the tourism sector and assesses its longterm prospects. For the UAE as a whole, the tourism sector had another good year in 2011, although annual growth in foreign tourists slowed slightly to an estimated 9%. The already burgeoning tourism sector appears to have benefited from the Arab Spring, with tourists attracted away from other locations in the region. Given the ongoing instability, there is potential for the industry to benefit further in this regard.

BMI anticipates a slowdown in the sector over the short term, with growth in arrivals forecast at around 6% in 2012, which is unchanged this quarter. This is partly driven by extremely weak economic conditions in the eurozone (Europe is the major source region for arrivals). Growth in visitors from Europe to Dubai has been weak in recent years. Continuing favourable opportunities exist for the UAE to exploit regional tourism growth, such as from Saudi Arabia. The tourism industry has also become a notable bright spot for the construction sector.

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Full Report Details at
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Final figures for 2011 show Dubai welcomed nearly 9.1mn visitors (including UAE residents), an annual increase of 9.7%, though growth slowed during the course of the year. Excluding UAE residents, the increase was slightly lower at 9.4%. Figures for Q112 show Dubai recorded a healthy 9% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in arrivals. Over the quarter, in Sharjah the number of visitors increased by a solid 11%.

In the hospitality sector, there was a robust increase of over 23% in the number of guest nights at Dubai hotels and hotel apartments in 2011, reaching over 32.8mn. The occupancy levels of hotels increased slightly compared with the previous year, to 74%, with the same occupancy rate recorded for hotel apartments. Tourists from Europe accounted for over 27% of total arrivals in hotels in 2011, but increased by only 0.3% compared with 2010 (an extra 6,700 tourists). The Q112 data show guest nights increased by 22% y-o-y. In Sharjah, figures for Q112 show a good 13% increase in hotel and hotel apartment room nights. Hotel occupancy rates in the emirate stood at 78%, compared with 75% in Q111.

Over the last quarter, BMI has revised the following forecasts and views:

* BMI's eurozone real GDP growth projections have been lowered slightly for 2012 to -0.6% from -0.5%, rising to only 1.0% growth (down from 1.2% previously) in 2013.
* BMI's revised projections for real GDP growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which are particularly positive for UAE tourism, are 4.8% and 4.1% in 2012 and 2013 respectively (from 4.4% and 4.5% previously), after an estimated 3.2% in 2011.
* Dubai-based airline Emirates recorded net profit of AED2.3bn (US$629mn) in the financial year ending March 2012, down by over 60% compared with the previous year, largely due to stifling fuel costs. Passenger numbers though increased favourably in the period, by just over 8%, to about 34mn.
* In the first direct air link between Abu Dhabi and any South American country, the flag carrier of Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways, will commence a daily service to Sao Paul, Brazil, in June 2013.

Report Table of Contents:

SWOT Analysis
- UAE Tourism SWOT
- UAE Political SWOT
- UAE Economic SWOT
- UAE Business Environment SWOT
Industry Forecast Scenario
- Arrivals
- Table: Arrivals, 2009-2016
- Accommodation
- Table: Hotels Data, 2009-2016 ('000 unless stated)
- Expenditure
- Table: Tourism Expenditure And Economic Impact, 2009-2016
- Inbound Tourism
- Table: Inbound Tourism By Region, 2009-2016
- Outbound Tourism
- Table: Outbound Tourism, 2009-2016
Market Overview - Travel
- Airports
- Commercial Airlines
- Table: Key Commercial Airlines In The UAE
- Global Oil Products Price Outlook
- Table: Oil Price Forecasts (US$/bbl)
Market Overview - Hospitality
- Accommodation Developments
- Table: Key Accommodation Projects In The UAE
- Regional Case Study: Accor
- Table: Accor Hotel Business In Selected Middle East And Africa Countries, December 2011
- Tourism Infrastructure
Business Environment Outlook
- Table: Middle East And Africa Tourism Risk/Reward Ratings
- BMI's Security Ratings
- Table: Middle East And Africa Defence And Security Ratings
- Table: Middle East And Africa State Vulnerability To Terrorism Index
- The UAE's Security Risk Ratings
- Middle East And Africa Security Overview
- The Middle East In A Global Context
- Challenges And Threats To Stability And Security
- Regional Power Dynamics
- Nuclear Proliferation
- External Powers
- Scenarios For The Middle East
Global Assumptions
- Table: Global Assumptions, 2011-2016
- Table: Global And Regional Real GDP Growth, % change y-o-y
- Table: Developed Market Exchange Rates, 2010-2013
- Table: Emerging Market Exchange Rates, 2010-2013
- Developed States
- Table: Developed States, Real GDP Growth Forecast, 2010-2013 (% change y-o-y)
- Emerging Markets
- Table: Emerging Markets, Real GDP Growth Forecast, 2010-2013 (% change y-o-y)
- Table: BMI And Bloomberg Consensus, Real GDP Growth Forecasts, 2012-2013 (%)
Company Profiles
- Emirates
- Etihad Airways
Demographic Outlook
- Table: UAE's Population By Age Group, 1990-2020 ('000)
- Table: UAE's Population By Age Group, 1990-2020
- Table: UAE's Key Population Ratios, 1990-2020
- Table: UAE's Rural And Urban Population, 1990-2020
BMI Methodology
- How We Generate Our Industry Forecasts
- Tourism Industry
- Tourism Ratings - Methodology
- Table: Tourism Risk/Reward Ratings Indicators
- Table: Weighting Of Components
- Sources

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