Leisure 2012 witnesses increased UAE participation
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The forthcoming ‘Leisure 2012’ scheduled to take place from September 19th – 22nd in Moscow is witnessing increased participation from both Sharjah and Dubai. Russia being one of the key tourist markets worldwide with 19 million annual travelers to all parts of the world, is being keenly tapped by both Emirates.
Senior officials from the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) and Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) will be attending the event. The DTCM delegation consisting of 74 participants from tourism sector in the emirate, including hotel facilities and tour operators, let alone the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs.
Commenting on the participation, HE Mohamed Ali Al Noman Chairman of the SCTDA said: “Russian tourists consider Sharjah a symbol of family, cultural and heritage tourism with 160,722 Russians visited Sharjah between January and August this year. In fact, the Russians ranked first among tourist arrivals in Sharjah representing 14% from the total number of tourists that visited the emirate in the same period with 1,110,200 international tourists.”
For Dubai, the number of Russian hotel guests saw a significant rise in 2009 – actually 183,308 visitors. The number further grew in 2010 to 209,381 – an increase of 14%, and rose again in 2011 to 255,746 – a rise of 22%.
Likewise, the number of hotel guests in Dubai from Russia, the Baltic States, and Commonwealth of Independent States hit 388,386 in 2009 as compared to 443,363 in 2010 – a rise of 14%. A 15% jump was further recorded in 2011 with 510,852.