In light of increased travel demand, the government-owned company wants to attract more foreign visitors.
Four new hotels will be opened by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, often known as Shurooq, across the emirate over the course of the following two years as part of its expansion ambitions.
According to Ahmed Al Qaseer, chief executive of Shurooq, the new boutique hotels will be located in Khorfakkan, Kalba, and close to the Sharjah safari project.
He stated on the sidelines of the Future Hospitality Summit in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, “There is excellent demand, which is why we are expanding.”
One Khorfakkan hotel is scheduled to open this year, two more will open the following year, and a third one associated with Sharjah Safari will debut in the first quarter of 2025.
He did not disclose the anticipated investment in the expansion but stated that following the launch of the additional properties, the portfolio of hotels owned by Shurooq will have more than 300 rooms.
The UAE is transitioning its economy away from oil, and one of the primary industries earmarked for growth in this process is tourism.
A national tourism strategy was unveiled last year by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, with the goal of luring 40 million hotel guests by the year 2031.
In addition, authorities want to bring Dh100 billion in tourism investment to the UAE and increase the contribution of the tourism industry to the GNP to Dh450 billion ($122.5 billion) by 2032.
Mr. Qaseer claims that “Our hotels are achieving the highest average daily rates in Sharjah.” “Over 75% of rooms were occupied last year. This year, we hope to perform better than last year.
International and domestic travelers from Europe and Asia have been staying at Shurooq’s hotels, and the “numbers are back to pre-Covid levels,” according to him.
In response to increased visitor demand, Shurooq also plans to treble the number of rooms available at several of its Sharjah-based facilities.
According to data gathered by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, hotels in the emirate hosted 467,775 visitors in the first three months of this year, up 33% from the same time last year.
With RevPar (revenue per available room) up 5% to Dh177 and ADR (average daily rate) up 13% to Dh252, the total revenue collected by hotels during the time increased 26% annually to Dh190 million.
According to government data, Russia was Sharjah’s biggest source market during that time, followed by Oman, India, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
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