Abu Dhabi, Oct 1 (IANS/WAM) The United Arab Emorates’ (UAE) National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said the country’s tourism sector grew by 8 percent in the last three years after the global financial crisis.
NBS, in a statement on the occasion of the World Tourism Day that fell Sep 27, said that the growth of the UAE tourism industry continued at a rate of 2.9 percent, and the number of hotels increased to 575, with Dubai accounting for 69 percent, or 399 hotels, of this total number.
Abu Dhabi comes second with 14 percent or 81 hotels, of the total number of hotels in the UAE, followed by Sharjah with 8 percent (46 hotels).
The emirates of Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Qaiwain, combined, account for 9 percent of the total number of hotels of country.
The total number of rooms offered by the UAE tourism industry grew by 8.2 percent in 2012 to reach 88,116 rooms, while the number of guests increased from 2011 by 19.3 percent to reach over 13.1 million in 2012.
–IANS/WAM
ab/dg