Dubai has made spa hotel developments easier in preparation for an expected influx of 25 million visitorsover the course of the six-month World Expo in 2020.

The emirate has shortened the pre-approval stage in hotel development by two-thirds – from six months down to two – for private developers, according to a statement by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, vice president of the UAE and ruler of Dubai.

Fees originally in place for ‘change of use of land’ for hotel operations have also been scrapped.

In addition, any new three- and four-star hotels that start operating before June 2017 will be exempt from a standard 10 per cent Dubai Municipality fee.

Developers can expect additional incentives and allocation of government land thanks to rising visitor numbers and improved room rates.

More than 1,000 new rooms were built in the last three months of 2013, according to data from property experts, Jones Lang LaSalle.

Openings included the Novotel Al Barsha, an expansion of the Millennium Airport Hotel and the new Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Lake Towers which has seven spa rooms, thermal facilities, a whirlpool and barber’s shop in its wellness centre.

5,500 additional rooms are planned this year, according to state-owned newspaper The National, including Sofitel Dubai Downtown which is set to open in May – complete with its own range of spa treatment rooms.

Other hotels to launch are the Double Tree Hilton Al Barsha, the InterContinental Dubai Marina and the second phase of the JW Marriott Marquis in Business Bay is set to be unveiled.

The JW Marriott Marquis’s Saray Spa treatments include couples’ massage, steam room, hammam, body scrub and wrap, plus all kinds of beauty services.