Sharjah, 11th Nov. 2008 -- Sharjah is planning to add over 5,000 new hotel rooms in the next two years, increasing the total number of hotel rooms to 12,000 rooms by 2010, a senior tourist official has disclosed.

Speaking of the expected growth in tourism sector during the coming years on the sideline of the World Travel Market (WTM), :HE Mohamed Al Noman, Director General of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), said : "In order to accommodate the increasing number of tourists visiting Sharjah, the emirate is gearing up to increase hotel capacity, and is continuing to attract world-renowned hotel brands.

''Over 5,000 new hotel rooms will be added in the next two years, increasing the total number of hotel rooms to 12,000 rooms by 2010,''he unveiled.

He stressed the importance of Sharjah's involvement in WTM and the key role played by the SCTDA in organizing the emirate's participation in the world-leading expo.

"At a time when Sharjah is emerging as a favorable destination for international tourists, promoting the emirate as a world-class destination on the international tourism map has become SCTDA's main concern. With this in mind, the SCTDA has undertaken many activities that are now beginning to attract much local, regional and international interest.

''We utilize our presence in international platforms to highlight the tourist attractions in Sharjah. These efforts have borne fruit, and Sharjah has had a strong presence at WTM over the last four years", he said.

Sharjah's participation in this year's WTM builds on the tremendous success it achieved at WTM 2007, where the emirate's stand was a magnet for the attention of the international tourism community. As with all its previous international participations, the authority was keen to provide accurate information about the emirate, and distributed English language publications to visitors.

WTM is one of the world's premier annual business-to-business travel and tourism gatherings and one of the top five international travel and tourism exhibitions. It is a prestigious networking event for key international travel and tourism players who meet to discuss ways to enhance cooperation among their countries. Last year's exhibition attracted over 49,000 visitors from 202 countries, with figures expected to increase by around 10% this year.

Day one of the World Travel Market (WTM) 2008 exhibition, being held in London on 10-13 November, saw the stand promoting the emirate of Sharjah attracting the attention of the tourism community, participants, organizers and visitors, as well as a number of VIPs.

H. E. Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Chairman of SCTDA, was on hand to receive VIPs who visit Sharjah's stand at one of Europe's premier tourism events. The VIPs included a number of CEOs of large travel and tourism agencies, heads of delegations, ambassadors and elite businessmen.

This year marks Sharjah's fifth participation in the 29th WTM exhibition.

The Sharjah delegation's official representatives to the exhibition met with their European and UK counterparts to discuss tourism cooperation strategies, at a time when the emirate is emerging as a destination of choice for European tourists.

Many of these tourists consider Sharjah a symbol of heritage, historical and cultural tourism, offering a multitude of diverse tourist attractions that have contributed significantly to positioning the emirate high up on the world's tourism map. (WAM/TF)