Hotel Oversupply Post Expo 2020 in Dubai? wsj.com
Hotels in Dubai enjoy some of the highest occupancy rates in the world. Tourists flock from around the region and afar to bask in the emirate’s winter sun, lie on its beaches and attend its glitzy events.
Dubai has greater ambitions too. It wants to receive some 25 million visitors in 2020 – when it hosts the World Expo. That figure will be up from 9.9 million last year, according to the Mastercard Top Destination Cities index, and is more than the combined visitors last year to New York and Paris.
To meet the government forecasts and cater for the current buoyant demand, developers are looking to build many more hotels in the emirate.
Currently, Dubai’s hotel and hospitality sector is in great health. It has an occupancy rate of about 80%, compared to a region-wide average of 64% and a European average of 56%, according to STR global.
“2020 is just five years away,” said Chiheb Ben Mamoud, head of hotels and hospitality at JLL Middle East and Africa. “Hence, the target of doubling the capacity is ambitious but the current pipeline should help.”