Abu Dhabi witnessed a double digit increase in the number of hotel guests during August compared to the same period in 2016, according to latest official figures.The increase helped to drive the total number of guests staying in the emirate to more than 3.1 million for the first eight months of the year.Figures released by the Department of Culture and Tourism, formerly known as Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, reveal 426,912 hotel guests at the emirate’s 166 hotels and hotel apartments in August, a rise of 13 percent over the same month last year.The total number of hotel guests so far in 2017 is up 7 percent, with occupancy standing at 68 percent.Saif Saeed Ghobash, director general, Department of Culture and Tourism, said: “We are encouraged by August’s figures and the increased growth, during a month which is traditionally a quieter time of the year for hotel guests.“As the year moves on, we expect to see further progress, not least due to the highly-anticipated opening of Louvre Abu Dhabi on November 11 which has rightly attracted huge interest from across the world.”According to the figures, there were notable increases in hotel guests from Abu Dhabi’s tier one markets of India, rising 24 percent to 31,202, China 68 percent to 28,747, Saudi Arabia 9.9 percentt to 23,111 and the United States up 35 percent to 11,703.The lifting of visa restrictions at the start of the year on Chinese travellers to the country has resulted in phenomenal growth from the country, with the Chinese now becoming Abu Dhabi’s largest overseas source market, heading India and the UK.
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