Working to boost visitor volume, Dubai is developing value-based accommodation to meet Tourism 2020 goals.
The city is working to transform from a luxury and business-centric city to a more mature destination attracting a diversified tourist profile, a move that will increase the city’s mid-scale room stock aligns with the requirements of the millennial and family travel segments from emergent markets such as China, Africa, Brazil and India.
In addition, with the emirate targeting 20 million visitors per year by 2020 and with the upcoming arrival of mega projects such as Dubai Expo 2020 and a number of world-class theme parks, it is imperative for Dubai to scale up its accommodation options.
Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, CEO, Issam Kazim, said “the newly affluent mid-class segment in developing countries such as China, Africa, Brazil and India have sparked the development of more mid-market options in Dubai. A recent study by PwC shows that young travellers from Asia and Africa, even those who can afford luxury, are opting to stay in affordable hotels as they tend to value experiences over five-star accommodations. This shift in focus among a powerful travel segment has presented a host of opportunities to investors in the GCC hospitality industry and helped to diversify our tourism offering to fit more developing source markets and groups.”
Millennial travellers represent 20 percent of international travellers at present and are expected to undertake 320 million international trips per year by 2020, offering long-term opportunities to cities that cater to the needs and requirements of this itinerant segment.
This, coupled with the increasing number of young families from developing countries such as India and China holidaying in Dubai, has led to an influx of value-based options. These include the likes of Courtyard by Marriott, Centro by Rotana, Ibis, Hilton Garden Inn, Starwood’s Aloft and Element brands, Novotel, Mercure, Aparthotel Adagio, Citymax, Holiday Inn and Dubai-based Byblos Hospitality, as well as home-grown Jumeirah Group’s first mid-market brand, Venu, and Emaar Hospitality Group’s Rove Hotels.
Rove Downtown Dubai, the first property under Rove Hotels, opened in May 2016, defines Dubai’s new mid-market niche with its cosmopolitan, high-tech, cultural and social outlook – defining features that make it appealing to the tech-savvy, adventurous modern traveller. The property celebrates the very pulse of modern Dubai with its unique approach to delivering high quality hospitality experiences that transcend typical value hotel norms.
