Dubai hotels are getting their prices right: DTCM
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Dubai hoteliers have got their prices right and UK tour operators who believe otherwise are being “naive”.
That’s the message from Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) who was speaking after some UK tour operators told TDME they would not attend Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai this year as they were fed up with the inflexible pricing strategies of hoteliers in the emirate.
“I agree that the hotels used to be control due to under supply of rooms and that times have changed - it’s new territory for Dubai hotels and maybe at first, they reacted more slowly than other markets,” said DTCM Director UK & Ireland Ian Scott (pictured).
“But hotel prices have come down a lot and sure, they are still are amongst the highest in the world, but average occupancies are also amongst the highest in the world - second only (globally) to Sydney, Australia [according to the latest figures].”
Scott said he believed Dubai hotels might have been slow with getting out tactical deals to the UK market in 2009, but had realised that and were “now doing well at managing their yield”. “Tour operators need to realise that Dubai is a premium luxury destination and it’s priced appropriately - if some expect it to compete with places like Cyprus, then they are being naive. It’s never going to be as cheap as the Mediterranean.”
In response to operator claims that rooms and F&B were too pricey, Scott also stressed that Dubai hotels were starting to think about better value offers with half-, full-board and all-inclusive options as well as ‘kids go free’ specials.
In addition, he also emphasised that agent training and fam trips to Dubai focused on affordable luxury
“Dubai has a reputation for being expensive, but it doesn’t have to be,” he said. “Of course, you can go all out and eat at Nobu or Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant but there are many affordable places - at Jumeirah Beach Walk or at Souk Al Bahar for example.
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