Ramadan comes fully booked

As the Holy Month of Ramadan is upon the UAE, during the hottest time of the year and the hottest year in the past decade, logically one would expect that the UAE hotel and tourism industry would suffer due to the temperatures and the lack of tourism/activity in the country. However, as it turns out, the challenging summer stretch is in no way expected to affect or dampen booking figures at hotels. All indications point to the contrary and that this month will bring smiles to UAE hotels. While Ramadan has indeed come in the middle of the hottest spell of the year, UAE hotels expect it to be business as usual for them, if not better. Most hoteliers say their forward bookings indicate occupancy levels could go up to as high as 80 per cent in August. Many hotels, including Jumeirah Beach hotel, expect to maintain an average of 70 percent occupancy throughout the month; as they did last Ramadan. 60 percent of those guests are accounted for as being corporate clients. Big hotel chains like Hilton and Moevenpick also see robust business ahead of Ramadan compared to last year. Of course, let’s not forget the big reason behind this hospitality boost that comes during the holy month; consistent offers of discounted rooms, Ramadan buffets and celebratory promotions that almost any hotel in the country is bound to offer, subsequently creating attractive packages for the more hesitant customers.