ATM 2025: Sharjah banks on strategic location to boost tourism as it welcomes 13% more guests in Q1

Arada unveils new Nest Hotel and aims to boost student accommodation segment

Visitors at Sharjah Safari Park. The emirate is heavily promoting cultural, adventure and eco-tourism. Antonie Robertson / The National

Sharjah's heritage-orientated tourism sector is banking on the boost that will result from the several infrastructure and campaign strategies designed to attract more visitors, reinforcing one of the UAE's economic pillars.

The emirate welcomed about 486,000 guests in the first quarter of 2025, a 13 per cent annual increase, Khalid Al Midfa, chairman of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, told The National at the Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai.

Sharjah is aiming to increase visitor numbers by up to 15 per cent this year, underpinned by its focus on cultural, adventure and eco-tourism "and these are all of where the majority of our products are built", he said.

"Some of [the infrastructure developments] will be ready this year and some next year and the year after ... the other area is the marketing and promotions, creating the right exposure to promote the destination across different channels, and this is really important."

Khalid Al Midfa, chairman of the Sharjah Tourism Authority, at the Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Mr Al Midfa declined to provide details on the cost of the projects but said the government is spending "billions and billions", especially on infrastructure development and road networks.

"We have seven destinations [emirates] within the country and they are all very close by proximity," Mr Al Midfa said. "You don't need to fly or drive very long to get from one destination to the other.

"And what you experience is something completely different between one destination and the other ... you get all of this variety."

Last year, work started on the Dh1.2 billion ($326.7 million) terminal expansion at Sharjah International Airport as the emirate seeks to increase its annual capacity to 20 million by 2027.

Spread across 190,000 square metres, the project is the largest phase of expansion work being undertaken and is expected to be completed in 2027.

The makeover is expected to help increase the attraction of the hospitality sector, given Sharjah's location between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and the rest of the UAE.

"Eventually, Dubai International Airport [operations] will move to Al Maktoum International Airport in Jebel Ali, and when that happens Sharjah will be the core airport in the Northern Emirates," Amit Arora, chief commercial officer of developer Arada, told The National.

"And when people come to Sharjah and these aeroplanes are linking the subcontinent to Europe via the hub in Sharjah, they're going to want to do [multiple] nights and check out its hospitality."

Sharjah's growing real estate portfolio is being positioned to boost the emirate's appeal. At ATM, Arada introduced the mid-scale Nest Hotel, which will be developed within the $9.53 billion Aljada megaproject.

The Nest is the first completed property in Arada’s 1,031-key hotel and serviced apartment portfolio in the lifestyle community and is scheduled to open in October.

The property is part of Arada's growing pipeline. The company has 1,680 rooms under development in various stages of completion and has plans to launch hotels each year, Mr Arora said.

"Every year starting in 2025, we're going to put a hotel in the market, from four and five stars to ultra luxury."

An artist's impression of Nest Hotel from Sharjah developer Arada at its Aljada megaproject. Photo: Arada

In February, Arada sold out its new $1.52 billion Masaar 2 building in three hours amid strong demand in the real estate market, making it the company's fastest-selling off-plan project in the emirate.

It was another reflection of the UAE's real estate market, that has been booming in recent years on the back of strong investor demand and residency initiatives by the government.

Arada is also aiming to cater to the student accommodation segment through the Nest brand, which Mr Arora said continues to grow amid an influx of students from around the region.

"Outside of the UAE and other markets, we would potentially be able to scale the brand ... we're already getting enquiries from other parts of the GCC to bring Nest to locations where there is demand for student accommodation," he added.