Dubai expects to host in excess of five million tourists by next year, up from 4.5 million guests staying with the hotels and hotel apartments during this year.

By the end of 2002, Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) expects to reach 4.5 million hotel establishment guests.

The emirate's hospitality industry recorded a 7.5 per cent growth in revenues in 2001 from the 3.62 million guests Dubai played host during that year. Dubai's hotel establishments earned in excess of Dh3.2 billion ($871.2 million) last year, a growth of 7.5 per cent over the previous year.

The hotel and hotel apartments guests grew by more than 6.04 per cent to cross the 3.62 million mark in 2001. The guest nights increased by almost four per cent to over 9.1 million. Dubai had reported a 15.63 per cent growth in hospitality industry's revenues in 2000 on the basis of a 13 per cent growth in the number of guests.

DTCM statistics showed total revenues of hotels and hotel apartments in 2000 was to the tune of Dh3,024,420, up from Dh2,615,489 in 1999. A total of 2,835,638 guests stayed with hotels in 2000, up by about 14.30 per cent over the 1999 figures.

The number of operating hotels and hotel apartments stood at 403 as of the first quarter of 2002.

A total of 393 hotels and hotel apartments were in operations in 2000, up from 378 in 1999. There were only 69 hotels offering 5,423 rooms in 1989, the year, which saw Dubai establishing a tourism and commerce marketing body.

The DTCM expects six million tourists by 2010, generating around 23 million guest nights.