Sharjah hotels report 75% occupancy in Q3

Sharjah's tourism authority on Wednesday said the emirate's hotels reported 75 percent occupancy in the third quarter of this year, a four percent increase over the same period last year. The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) said the rate of occupancy for hotel apartments stood at 69 percent which represented a three percent rise on the year earlier period. The SCTDA statistics, announced on the sidelines of the World Travel Market event in London, showed an increase in the total number of visitors to Sharjah which stood at 1,122,347 by the end of the third quarter. The number of hotel and hotel apartment nights also rose during the third quarter with a total of 1,302,950 nights, compared to 1,126,187 nights during the same period last year - a 15 percent jump. SCTDA chairman Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, said Sharjah was "keen to explore international avenues and opportunities that could increase the investments in the tourism sector and improve the services and facilities for the tourists". Al Qassimi added: "The SCTDA strategy to promote Sharjah goes hand in hand with the amazing progress and tremendous development the emirate has been witnessing." He said the SCTDA expects a further increase in the tourist inflow and hotel occupancy in the last quarter this year because of events such as the Sharjah Water Festival, the F1 Powerboat World Championship-Sharjah Grand Prix 2011 and the Sharjah International Book Fair. Al Qassimi said that more tourism projects are going to be unveiled across the emirate soon including the Al Majaz Waterfront project which will transform the Buheirah Corniche. "There are many other plans on the table to promote tourism sector in the emirate that the SCTDA will be finalising before the end of this year," he added.