The UAE is greeting its residents and visitors before Eid Holidays with some positive announcements related to the hospitality sector.

HH Sheikh Hamadan bin Rashid Al Maktoum has announced that “there will be a 3% reduction on the sale value for purchases in hotel facilities and restaurants in Dubai”. This means that the municipality fees applicable on services within hotels and related facilities are to be reduced from 10% down to 7%.

Concurrently, under the instruction of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the tourism fee currently applied to hotel rooms and outlets has been reduced from 6 per cent to 3.5 per cent and the municipality fee has been reduced from 4 per cent to 2 per cent.

The timely news will undoubtedly result in an increase in occupancy levels in hotels and restaurants, especially over the coming Eid holidays and the upcoming period.

The recent initiatives in the hospitality sector are in line with the Expo 2020 spirit and will help to maintain Dubai’s ranking as one of the world’s most popular travel destination with the aim to receive 20 million visitors per year by 2020.

The announcement comes following a string of several other positive announcements recently, including a reduction in market fees for investors, waiver of corporate fines and a freeze on private schooling fees.

The government strategies will surely enhance the market confidence in the short term and give a definitive boost to the growth of the hospitality and the tourism sectors in the coming years, uplifting the economy and attracting global investments in order to sustain the Emirates position as a preferred destination for both tourists and businesses internationally.

We wish you a blessed and happy Eid Al Fitr.