A shortage of hotel rooms and longer term visitor accommodations have resulted in a wave of cancellations from overseas tourists planning to vacation in Dubai in recent weeks and months. The industry setback comes despite major investment in the emirate’s booming construction and hotel industry.
Government officials at the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) maintain that Dubai currently supplies 30,000 hotel rooms and an additional 8,000 hotel apartments for longer term stays.
Officials plan for the staggering construction of at least 18,000 more rooms in the next two years, according to Gulf News. The massive construction efforts, however, have not kept pace with the demand for visitor accommodations, worrying officials and business communities alike that significant tourist dollars are being lost as a result of the lack of accommodations.
The construction time-span has seen supply rates dip below accelerating demand, they maintain. "The main obstacles are the availability of direct airline routes from countries (such as Spain) and the lack of hotel rooms,” said Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, manager for media relations at the DTCM.
“We are seeing many cancellations from tour operators because they can't find available rooms," Abdul Rahman added.
