Abu Dhabi, Saudi cities see occupancy rises in May

Abu Dhabi reported the largest occupancy increase in the Middle East and Africa region in May, according to latest data supplied by STR Global.

The UAE capital's hotels saw occupancy levels rise 17.4 percent to 64.2 percent.
Saudi Arabia's Riyadh reported the second-best occupancy increase with an 8.4 percent rise to 73.5 percent.

Overall, the region saw a mixed performance during May. The Middle East/Africa ended the month with a 12.5 percent decrease in occupancy to 53.7 percent, average daily rate rose 8.5 percent to $151.96, and revenue per available room ended the month with a 5.1 percent decrease to $81.53.

Elizabeth Randall, managing director at STR Global, said: “The political changes and demonstrations across parts of Northern Africa and the Middle East continue to influence hotel performances.

“The MENA markets reporting positive occupancy and average room rate increases for May are Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and Dubai.

"Despite new supply still entering the Dubai market, May was the second consecutive month of moderate average rate increases since mid-2008”.
Cairo's hotel industry continued to suffer in the post-revolution era with occupancy dropping 47.6 percent to 34.4 percent.

Only one market in the Middle East experienced ADR increases of more than 10 percent - Riyadh saw an 11.3 percent rise to $284.93.

Despite its occupancy rise, Abu Dhabi posted the largest ADR decrease of the key markets, registering a 22.3 percent drop to $145.27, STR Global data showed.

Riyadh experienced a double-digit revPAR increases, up 20.6 percent to $209.43 while Muscat, Oman recorded a 22 percent drop to $79.14.