The number of occupied hotel rooms in Ajman, a measure of tourist activity in the emirate, increased from 186,500 in 2009 to 602,033 last year, according to a report published by the Ajman Government.
The emirate boasted nine hotels in 2005, but now has 27. The revenue of Ajman hotels grew at an average rate of 14 per cent annually across the period.
Spare capacity in the hotel industry corresponding decreased from 49 per cent in 2009 to 43 per cent last year.
But tourism accounts for less than 6 per cent of the Ajman economy – compared to the 37 per cent share of the local economy constituted by the manufacturing industry.
Overall, real GDP increased by 4 per cent, placing the emirate’s growth rate close to the UAE’s overall rate of 4.4 per cent in 2012.
Food prices increased by 8.51 per cent, contributing significantly to overall inflation of 3.5 per cent.
Employment in Ajman banks was 48 per cent Emirati, suggesting the success of Emiratisation drives.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Humaid, chairman of Ajman’s department of economic development, said in a release yesterday: “The economy of the Emirate of Ajman has [avoided] the repercussions of the global financial crisis.”
The Ministry of Public Works recently announced that hundreds of millions of dirhams would be spent on construction projects in Sharjah, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah.
The report was published by the Department of Economic Development in Ajman, and provides economic statistics for 2012.
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