Sharjah hotels record 75%

Hotels and hotel apartments in Sharjah recorded 75 per cent occupancy in the first half of 2011, a three per cent increase from last year. Statistics released yesterday by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority showed the number of hotel and hotel apartment rooms booked had increased from 784,342 last year to around 908,000 this year — up 16 per cent. Yogesh Batra, the assistant manager of the Sharjah National Travel and Tourist Agency\'s contracting department, said the increase in tourism in the emirate can be attributed to a decrease in prices. \"Earlier, prices were very high,\" he said, but now, the decrease has made Sharjah a more affordable travel destination for visitors. More than 768,000 tourists stayed in the emirate\'s 106 hotels in the first half of this year. Article continues below Europeans made up 40 per cent of visitors, in a trend continuing from recent years. Among European visitors, 24 per cent were Russian. Tourists from the GCC made up 29 per cent, with Saudis making up 27 per cent of those. Visitors from other Arab Middle Eastern countries made up 10 per cent, and Americans, Scandinavians, and Africans together made up three per cent. Special offers Batra said the reason Sharjah was so popular with European tourists is that it is a ‘cultural capital.\' It hosts 17 museums, which attract Western tourists looking for a ‘heritage and cultural touch,\' he said. The emirate\'s many open beaches and homely atmosphere also make it popular, he added. Growth in Sharjah\'s tourism sector is also influenced by hotel promotions and special offers as well as heritage and cultural events, the SCTDA report suggests. Earlier this year for example, the emirate hosted the Sharjah Light Festival, the first of its kind in the Middle East. The nine-day festival, which focused on the emirate\'s monuments and landmarks, attracted more than 90,000 residents and visitors. Batra noted that such events tended to attract more visitors from GCC countries than Western tourists. Sharjah also participates in travel and trade events and exhibitions and promotional tours.