UAE hotels report near to full occupancy as they enter the festive season.
In Dubai, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel is booked 90 per cent during the Christmas week and is full for New Year.
Around 40 per cent of the guests during this period come from the domestic market, while Europe and the Arabian Gulf account for the bulk of the rest. Food and beverage contributes about 40 per cent of the revenues during the festive season.
“New Year is busier than Christmas for us with our pool terrace offering views of the fireworks,” said Rupprecht Queitsch, the general manager for JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai. “With the Expo 2020, the word went out to the world about Dubai, everybody’s talking about it.”
The Abu Dhabi hotel operator Rotana, which has 32 properties across the country, is also expecting occupancy rates of 90 per cent in most of its hotels with visitors mainly from Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the Gulf,, besides domestic tourists.
“We are anticipating a strong festive season,” said Omer Kaddouri, Rotana’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “The UAE is the centre of the world, and everybody knows this is where you can come and have a lot of fun, because of the weather, the beaches, restaurants and hotels, but we have always relied on domestic visitors.”
About 30 per cent of the revenues come from food and beverage for the hotels in Rotana’s UAE portfolio, and 70 per cent from room sales.
The source markets for the hotels vary according to the hotel. Amwaj Rotana in Jumeirah Beach Residence area, for instance, is expecting full occupancy with all the visitors coming from Europe, Mr Kaddouri said.
The airlines are also expecting a strong passenger load factor though both Emirates and flydubai declined to provide numbers.
“Due to the further expansion of our route network and the increase of flight frequencies into Eastern Europe, Russia and the Gulf, we are experiencing an increase in the number of passengers visiting Dubai during the holiday period,” said a flydubai spokeswoman.
At Arabian Courtyard Hotel & Spa in Dubai’s Bastakiya area, rooms are sold out from December 29 until January 3, and the property expects an occupancy rate of about 85 per cent during Christmas, said Habib Khan, the general manager of Arabian Courtyard and chief executive of the hospitality division at Planet Group, which manages the hotel. And 95 per cent of the guests are from overseas, dominated by the UK, Germany and Australia, drawn by the hotel’s “Arabic character, nearby Dubai Creek, bargain shopping and heritage areas”, Mr Khan said.
Al Bustan Centre and Residence, which is close to the Dubai airport with 640 suites, is fully booked from December 20 until January 2.
“During this time, most of our visitors are from Russia, who stay on average for a week, and rest are mainly from Gulf and the UAE, who stay on for three to five days,” said Arun Kumar, the resident manager of Al Bustan Centre. The Sharia compliant hotel says sales from food is around 15 per cent.
In the capital, Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal, which opened in March, is also expecting to run at full capacity from December 26 and until January 2.
“We have introduced several festive room packages, such as Christmas Day Brunch and Stay Package and New Year’s Eve Suite Life Package, that have seen a lot of interest from the local community,” said Dilip Mukundan, the director of sales and marketing at the hotel.
And it is not only Christmas and New Year that are keeping the hotels busy.
In the Western Region, Tilal Liwa Hotel is fully booked from December 14 until January 6 as the 111-room Madinat Zayed hotel caters to visitors to 15-day Al Dhafra camel beauty contest, which started December 14, and the week-long Liwa Desert Challenge, which ends January 4.
“The main attraction here is the desert and the average length of stay is three nights,” said Ayman Ashor, the general manager of Tilal Liwa Hotel. Around 80 per cent of the visitors during this time as in rest of the year are from within the UAE, with the rest from international market, dominated by German and Chinese guests.
The demand means the room rates here start at Dh1,500 per night during the period, as compared with Dh600 on average for the rest of the year.
Tilal Liwa has two restaurants and close to 44 per cent of the hotel’s revenue come from food and beverage. “People are nowadays looking for the experience, and are willing to pay for it,” Mr Ashor says.
In Dubai, four and five-star hotels surveyed by HotStats achieved 84.5 per cent occupancy in December last year, up marginally from 83.7 per cent during the same period the previous year. The average room rate they posted were US$323 in December 2012, up 4.7 per cent.
In Abu Dhabi, hotels achieved 76 per cent occupancy last year, up from 69.3 per cent in 2011 and an average room rate of US$130.6 in December 2012, down 15 per cent compared to the previous year.
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European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
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World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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