The Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi has announced that it exceeded expectations in customer satisfaction and earnings in 2013, following a surge in the number of hotel guests to over 150,000, its Hotel Manager said today. Alexander Schneider said the revenue per available room (RevPar) in the iconic hotel reached one of its highest levels since the Palace was inaugurated in 2005, due to an increase in room and suite rates of approximately 26 per cent. "Despite the opening of many other luxury hotels and resorts in Abu Dhabi, Emirates Palace has continued to achieve a very high performance over the past years and this proves that the hotel is able to maintain momentum in its business and attract as many visitors as possible given our high level services," said Mr. Schneider. Asked about new projects and plans, he said work is underway to upgrade some facilities at the hotel, adding that he expected a high demand for 2014. Emirates Palace is now focusing on lucrative markets such as China, India and Latin America and has already attracted a large number of visitors from these countries, thanks to an increase in flights by Etihad Airways. "Emirates Palace also hosts many wedding parties by influential families from India, Russia and China, given its positions as a tourism landmark in the emirate," said Mr. Schneider. He disclosed plans for cooperation between Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi-based twofour54 and the National Media Council to support the hosting of international movie productions in the hotel. "We will soon embark on several projects with the aim of supporting the development of the film industry in Abu Dhabi," he said, adding, "Emirates Palace is the only venue in the region qualified to offer a unique backdrop for film shootings and to curate a movie premiere screening in its auditorium at the same time."