Sharjah’s hotel revenue is expected to increase by at least 10% this year, according to Khalid Al Midfa, Director General of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA). Sharjah is likely to see 30 new hotels in the next three years, adding around 4,000 rooms to the existing 10,000 rooms. The emirate expects to attract more than 2mn visitors this year, up by between 10% and 11% compared to 2013, which saw 1.9mn visitors. Al Midfa, however, did not disclose hotel revenues for 2013, except to say that revenue reached AED716mn in 2012. The cost of 21 projects that Sharjah is working on, as part of its celebration of the capital of Islamic culture, for 2014 is approximately AED1.5bn, distributed over universities, monuments, traditional markets, museums and libraries, as well as scientific and architectural structures, according to Gulf News.