Dubai and Abu Dhabi's tourist boards expect record numbers of visitors this month as a projected increase in holiday travel to the UAE from Germany and emerging markets in eastern Europe swells hotel bookings.
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The increased demand will help compensate for reduced tourist spending from elsewhere in Europe.
Early indicators of tourist numbers for this month were strong, said Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, the executive director for business development and media relations at the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
"The feedback we are getting from the hotel establishments in Dubai this year makes us confident that the growth will be double digit in the last quarter of this year compared with the previous years," he said.
"The occupancy levels of hotels and hotel apartments are high compared with the previous years due to significant increase in arrivals of tourists in Dubai in the last quarter of 2011, especially during November and December." Increased numbers of travellers seeking warmer weather from Europe, Iran and Russia were swelling hotel bookings, Mr Abdul Rahman said.
Tour operators and travel agents in the UK and France indicated that the slowing pace of economic growth was having an impact on bookings.
But fast-growing economies including Germany, Russia and other emerging markets in eastern Europe may now compensate for lost business from those countries.
"The increased air connectivity, especially by Emirates and flydubai, is bringing more people from destinations that are normally cool this time around like Georgia," Mr Abdul Rahman said.
Dubai received 859,581 hotel guests in December last year, compared with 165,212 in Abu Dhabi. The majority of tourists to the capital came from within the UAE.
A large number of international tourists were expected to be lured to Abu Dhabi by high-profile sporting events towards the end of the month.
"We do expect a year-end spike this year and early new year due to the fortnight hosting of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet, which traditionally attracts large numbers of visitors," said a spokeswoman for Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.
The Mubadala World Tennis Championship was also expected to draw significant numbers of travellers, she said.
Luxury hotels in Abu Dhabi highlighted large numbers of advance bookings from German tourists, which have accounted for about half of their bookings for the month, the spokeswoman added.
Many European tour operators have reduced capacity amid weakening economies and aversion for holidays in Middle Eastern countries where uprisings have overthrown governments in Egypt and Tunisia.
Thomas Cook, TUI Travel and Club Mediterranée have all reported a slump in demand to key Middle Eastern destinations.
But the weakness of European currencies has led to some travel agents advising tourists to avoid Dubai, which is perceived as more expensive.
The euro has fallen 6.7 per cent against the dirham, which is pegged to the US dollar, since the end of October, while the British pound has lost 2 per cent during the same period.
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