Residents get busy planning out a vacation or a staycation, and others even look forward to Expo at this point in time
UAE - With the holiday season and Christmas celebrations combined with preparations for Expo 2020 Dubai in full swing, the hospitality sector is bracing itself for a surge in the number of visitors, travellers and tourists.
As the winter season gets cozy and the holidays set in, residents get busy planning out a vacation or a staycation. Holiday homes, which are very popular, are having a hectic time with bookings with a surge in demand.
Firas Al Msaddi, CEO of Fam Properties and Fam Living, said: "With more than 10,000 holiday homes registered in Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing books, the holiday homes sector trended on high demand in December, thanks to an eventful calendar organised by officials and developers. We noticed this month a high influx into Dubai, coming from other emirates as well as countries around the world to share the festive celebrations of the city."
Today, more than 60 per cent of travellers look for value experience during their travels. Developers' major projects - such as Meraas' City Walk and Bluewaters Island and Emaar's Downtown Dubai - organised multiple events across the city, attracting travellers from everywhere, successfully making their landmarks a destination for visitors, which added value to holiday homes in those areas and placing them in very high demand.
"A report indicates that more than $220 billion was spent in 2019 on business travelling when 51 per cent of those travellers ended up extending their business trips to mix with leisure, and this trend will continue growing in 2020 enlarging Dubai's market share as a business hub to travel," added Al Msaddi.
In Dubai, the best-performing areas for holiday homes are Downtown, City Walk and Dubai Marina. Most recently, demand is also setting in for the newly-opened development at Bluewaters island.
Dr Mandar Vaidya, chief executive officer of OYO Hotels and Homes Southeast Asia and Middle East, said: "The winter season is a great time to visit the UAE. Apart from the pleasant weather, the nation has lots to offer in terms of shopping festivals, Christmas and new year festivities and concerts, among numerous other experiences."
The upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai will definitely witness a rise in tourists coming to the emirate. While the show is still 11 months away, a few early adopters have already booked accommodations for October-December 2020.
"We have seen a spike in bookings especially for our Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah properties. In Dubai, the favoured areas include Dubai Marina [including JBR and JLT], Bur Dubai, Downtown and Barsha," said Dr Vaidya.
Khurram Shroff, chairman of IBC Group, said: "We have been receiving enquiries from a number of travellers, companies and national delegations planning to come to Dubai for Expo 2020 for some time already. Such requests are now beginning to increase in number as the event draws nearer and discerning visitors seek out curated experiences."
Many of the locations in Dubai that are known for iconic landmarks, leisure activities, promenades, retail outlets, cafes and restaurants tend to attract the greatest number of visitors, as well as being preferred for renting holiday homes.
"We are observing extraordinary demand in the Dubai Marina, Business Bay, Jumeirah Lake Towers and Downtown areas. It's not uncommon for apartments in these premier areas to attract quotes of around $1,500 per night, over the christmas and new year's eve period. With many of the greatest attractions in Dubai and some of the finest leisure and shopping experiences in the world close at hand, holiday homes in these locations tend to be highly sought-after," added Shroff.
