Tag Archives: exclusive-dubai
Dubai rents ‘will continue to rise’
From a property investor's point of view, it is always encouraging to see rental rates increasing in Dubai, as this suggests that demand for accommodation is strong.Landlords in many parts of the city were forced to lower their asking prices when the global economy took a turn for the worse, but it seems that things are now firmly back on track.Farouk Soussa, the chief economist in the Middle East for Citigroup, told the National that increasing rents are something of a trend in Dubai.”Going forward we expect further increases in rent in Dubai as we forecast house prices to rise by 35 per cent this year and rents to be not far off it,” he was quoted as saying.According to the Dubai Statistics Centre, housing costs in April 2013 rose at their fastest pace for more than three years.Dubai certainly appears to be a more profitable market than Abu Dhabi, as figures suggested that rents in the latter fell last month.”The rate of population growth in Abu Dhabi is still short of Dubai and the investment interest in Dubai's property market is higher than Abu Dhabi,” Mr Soussa added.Unsurprisingly, certain parts of Dubai attract more interest from lodgers than others and it seems that more exclusive areas like Dubai Marina are particularly popular.Earlier this year, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency revealed that The Greens is another region that is highly desirable.The cost of renting a studio apartment in this part of town went up by an incredible 22 per cent between the end of 2012 and March 2013, Emirates 24/7 reports.In addition to this, owners of one-bedroom apartments hiked their rents by 15 per cent over the same period, while two-bedroom properties were 28 per cent more expensive.Although there has been a sharp increase in the number of new buildings being erected across the city, experts predict that rising population figures will ensure that rents continue to go upwards in the near future.The First Group can help you find some of the best properties in Dubai Continue reading
Dubai continues to target Chinese tourists
Tourism chiefs in Dubai will reach out to Chinese holidaymakers in a bid to swell the city's visitor numbers in the coming years.Although the emirate is already one of the most popular destinations in the Middle East, Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) is keen to persuade even more people to take a vacation in the emirate.Director general of the state-run body Helal Saeed Almarri said China is “a market of the future” for Dubai, Xinhua reports.Hoteliers throughout the region are already tailoring packages with Asian travellers specifically in mind and this is a trend that is likely to gather pace in the coming years.Last year, the city attracted 300,000 Chinese visitors, which was a 26 per cent increase on 2011, according to figures provided by the DTCM.As you would perhaps expect, Dubai is inundated with tourists during the Chinese New Year celebrations and statistics show that 60 per cent of guests at the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel at this time of year are Chinese.A spokesperson for the five-star Armani Hotel told the news provider that people from the Asian country are particularly keen to stay in resorts that have Chinese restaurants and Mandarin-speaking staff, so this is something that other hotel owners will have to consider if they are to successfully tap into this market.While China is clearly a crucial market for the DTCM, Mr Almarri suggested that people are flooding in from other parts of the world too.”Visitors from India and Africa are also poised to generate the necessary momentum to reach the ambitious goal expressed by Dubai ruler His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum,” he was quoted as saying.Overall, Dubai is aiming to double the number of holidaymakers spending time in the city to 20 million by 2020 and with a plethora of exciting new developments nearing completion, the emirate is certainly going the right way about attracting more and more visitors. Continue reading
RAK International Airport profits are encouraging
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) International Airport continues to grow in stature, with bosses at the facility reporting a 31 per cent year-on-year upturn in revenue in the first quarter of 2013.More and more people are visiting the northern emirate, with aircraft movements rising by 42 per cent in the first three months of the year.RAK is steadily establishing itself as an attractive holiday destination and is also appealing to property investors who are focusing on up-and-coming areas.Chief executive of RAK International Airport Andrew Gower was understandably very pleased with the latest performance figures and he feels the hard work that has gone into luring passengers to the northern emirate is starting to bear fruit.”With RAK being the northern gateway to the UAE and just 45 minutes from Dubai via road, RAK International Airport is able to provide tourists and visitors an alternate and faster approach to the country due to its relatively free skies and faster immigration check-in and checkout,” he remarked.Being so close to Dubai – which is one of the most modern and fastest-growing cities on earth – undoubtedly works in RAK's favour.While it may seem like the two areas are in direct competition, RAK ultimately benefits from having such close ties with Dubai – a point backed up by recent studies that show RAK hotel owners are reporting rising occupancy rates.According to the National, Hilton is set to add 600 rooms in RAK this year and it is certainly not the only international chain with plans to boost its presence in northern parts of the UAE.Leaders at RAK Airways also announced that 250,000 people visited the emirate in the first quarter of 2013, which is a sharp upturn on previous years and offers further proof that RAK is starting to flourish.RAK International first opened in 1976 and underwent a major expansion in 2007. If current trends persist, there is every chance the airport's capacity will be extended even further in the coming years. Continue reading
