Dubai hotel revenue near 2009 low - survey

Dubai hotel revenues fell more than 40 percent in May from a year ago near a year-low as travellers tightened their belts due to the economic crisis, according to an industry survey.

Hotel occupancies in Dubai, the Gulf's tourism and trade hub, fell 14.5 percent in the same period to 66.5 percent, hospitality research company STR Global said.

Revenue per available room (revPAR), an industry benchmark, stood at around $141, compared with $236 last year.

Beirut, helped by hopes of returning political stability, led the region in revPAR gains with 162 percent, followed by Jeddah and Abu Dhabi.

Top five markets in terms of occupancies in the Middle East and Africa region were Beirut, which saw an increase of 94 percent, followed by Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul and Amman. Dubai, which has attracted waves of tourists to its beaches and luxury hotels predominantly from European and Russian markets continued to suffer as the global financial crisis bit into the spending power of these countries.

"We could see higher rates in Q4 this year because Q4 last year was very bad, but with the economic environment being so volatile it's a difficult guess," STR Global Marketing Director Konstanze Auernheimer told Reuters.

"Any oversupply in these market conditions is not helpful. We may end up seeing some projects being put back or delayed," she said.

Falls in RevPAR included 32 percent down for Istanbul, a near 28 percent decrease for Cape Town, 23 percent in Johannesburg and 18 percent in Cairo.

Muscat led occupancy drops with a fall of 20.4 percent, followed by 17 percent down for Riyadh and Cairo, and 16.7 percent for Johannesburg. (Reuters)

READERS' COMMENTS

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM