More than 1.7 million tourists visited Sharjah last year, as the number of hotel guests and room nights rose.
The number represents an increase of 11 per cent on 2011, when 1.56 million visitors stayed in the emirate, according to an annual statistics report.
Hotel occupancy in the emirate was about 75 per cent last year, while 72 per cent of hotel apartments were full, on average.
More than 2 million hotel nights were booked, an increase of 13 per cent compared with 2011. The number of hotels and hotel apartments was 101, with 9,141 rooms.
European and Arabian Gulf countries were jointly the emirate's largest markets, making up 72 per cent of visitors. More than 621,000 Europeans visited the emirate last year, giving them a slight edge over the number of GCC tourists, which was 618,000.
Visitors from other Arab countries made up a further 13 per cent, with Asian tourists also accounting for 13 per cent.
Mohamed Ali Al Noman, the chairman of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, said the rise in visitors was a testament to progress in the tourism sector in the emirate.
The authority has been working to showcase Sharjah abroad at recent international exhibitions, conferences and travel and tourism sector events, including ITB Berlin. And in November it was announced that a double-decker sightseeing tour bus service was to be launched in the emirate, running all year.
Events such as the Sharjah Light Festival and Sharjah Water Festival attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the region and beyond every year, Mr Al Noman said.
"This growing international recognition and accolades and honours coming Sharjah's way, also reflected in the significant increase in the number of tourists last year, adds to our responsibility to work for greater success and growth, developing integrated strategies to promote Sharjah locally, regionally and internationally and attract more visitors," Mr Al Noman said.
gduncan@thenational.ae
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Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
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History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
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To be taxed:
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Products excluded from the ‘sweetened drink’ category would contain at least 75 per cent milk in a ready-to-drink form or as a milk substitute, baby formula, follow-up formula or baby food, beverages consumed for medicinal use and special dietary needs determined as per GCC Standardisation Organisation rules
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Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie
Four out of five stars
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