Bloomberg: 30% of Dubai hotel workers may lose their jobs due to Corona

A report by Bloomberg website, citing the research institution "STR", said that the hotel occupancy rate in Dubai has decreased since the spread of the Corona virus, and it is possible that about 30% of workers in this sector will lose their jobs.

The Bloomberg report quoted Philip Waller, director of the Middle East and Africa division at STR, as saying that about 43,000 hotel rooms - equivalent to a third of all rooms - would likely remain closed until September, as most hotel owners would direct Reservations to a smaller number of properties to save operating costs.

And 30% is the minimum estimate for job loss, at a time when hotel owners will have to pay wages out of their own money. An estimated 40,000 people work in this industry, according to the same source.

The report said that Dubai built a set of landmarks to attract tourists, and that the city contains about 120 thousand rooms, adding that the occupancy rate in the hotel sector was before the Corona crisis among the highest in the world in years.

He added that among the other setbacks that hit Dubai, the Dubai International Expo 2020 was postponed to next year due to the Corona virus.

The report indicated that the occupancy rate has reached about 23% since the beginning of last April, as the global epidemic caused the travel and tourism industry to stop in all parts of the world.

The average occupancy around the world is about 20%, and was mostly supported by the demand for medical staff and quarantine, at a time when the occupancy rate was 80% at the end of February.

Tourism contributed 11.5% to Dubai's GDP in 2019, with the government reporting that 16.7 million tourists visited the city.

The rest of the Gulf countries

In Abu Dhabi, 17% of the city's 29,000 hotel rooms were closed. According to the "STR" Foundation, the occupancy rate is estimated today at about 50%, as the government rents rooms for basic employees and quarantine.

The Bloomberg report stated that the closings affected most of the hotels in the rest of the Gulf countries, with close to 43% of the rooms in the Omani capital, while more than 80% of the rooms in Mecca closed.

On the other hand, the report said that some hotel owners in Qatar are still benefiting from the government's rental of nearly thirty properties.

He added that Qatar - which is scheduled to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022 - is still benefiting from the demand as the infrastructure continues to be prepared.