Finding a hotel room in Dubai has never been so difficult as in recent days as the city has been witnessing a shortage of accommodation and high tariffs with the boom in tourism.

Hotel rooms that used to be available for only $50 to $ 100 now go for twice the figure and during the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) beginning on December 20, it will be next to impossible to get a place to stay.

Getting a visa through a relative or friend in Dubai adds to the hassle. However, Dubai-owned Emirates Airline has offered a special package whi3ch includes easy visa and affordable rooms to Indian tourists. The special package of $66 per person per night will be available throughout the DSF, the city’s annual shopping and entertainment extravaganza, Salem Obaidalla, Emirates Vice-President, India & Nepal told DNA.

“The packages, valid from December 20, 2006, until February 2, 2007, start from as little as $66 per night on a twin sharing basis with a choice of accommodation from 18 select properties,” he said.

“Indian tourists can approach the Dubai Visa Processing Centre to obtain a four-day or 59-day visa. The facility is available at our offices to passengers traveling on Emirates from Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata and Bangalore.

“Indian tourists can approach the Dubai Visa Processing Centre to obtain a four-day or 59-day visa. The facility is available at our offices to passengers traveling on Emirates from Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata and Bangalore.

“As for the hotels, the packages must be booked for a minimum of three nights and carry the option to extend. The price includes breakfast, transfers between Dubai International Airport and the hotel by chauffeur-driven car and personalised meet-and-assist upon arrival.

“Customers receive a special 10 per cent discount on hotel room tariff, for booking and buying packages online,” he added.

The DSF officials had conducted a four-day roadshow in major Indian cities ahead of the festival in an effort to achieve the targeted 12 per cent increase in the tourist inflow from India to attract 400,000 Indian tourists as against 357,000 last year. India was ranked third behind UK and Russia in terms of tourist inflow to Dubai in 2005.