By: Mahmoud Gamal

Dubai – Mubasher: Hotels in the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai have almost fully occupied in the first days of February, coinciding with the celebrations of the Chinese Lunar Year of the Pig, which will begin on Tuesday, 5 February.

The UAE’s internal tourism is expected to recover on the back of high demands of residents and tourists, especially Chinese nationals, to spend their vacation in the GCC nation’s two biggest emirates where they find offers and services at affordable prices, hospitality experts said.

Millions of tourists across the world plan to travel to the UAE during the first ten days of February to enjoy entertainment programmes and promotions celebrating the Chinese New Year.

The Lunar New Year lasts for about 15 days and is celebrated with food, fireworks and a raft of events.

High occupancy

Recent statistics showed that the UAE’s hotel occupancy increased to more than 70% in 2018, compared to the prior year.

The number of tourists in Dubai rose 0.24% year-on-year to as much as 14.30 million visitors in 2018.

While Abu Dhabi’s travellers levelled up 0.4% to 4.57 million over the course of the previous year, against 4.37 million in 2017.

Chinese tourists  

Chinese tourists grew 5% to 1.11 million in the UAE’s two biggest cities during 2018, compared to 1.06 million in the year before.

Dubai hotels welcomed around 779,000 Chinese visitors in 2018, up 12% from 696,000 in 2017.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi hotels received around 366,000 Chinese tourists in 2018.

It is worth noting that Chinese nationals ranked second after Indians in terms of the UAE’s visitors.  

Translated by: Kholoud Mohamed Hussein