Gulf cities post strong September tourism numbers

Four Gulf tourism markets recorded double-digit RevPAR increases in September, with Dubai leading the way, according to new data from STR Global.

Hotels in Dubai posted a 16.9% increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) last month to US $148.07.

Doha was also a strong performer - up 14.9% to $117.10, while Jeddah (up 13.1% to $188.94) and Muscat (up 10.3% to $120.92) also registering double-digit growth.

Doha also posted the biggest occupancy rate rise in the Middle East and Africa region, an increase of 22.7% to 66%, STR Global said.
Hotels in Abu Dhabi also reported strong growth with a 12.5 percent increase to 67.4 percent.

Cairo reported the largest occupancy decrease, falling 52.8% to 24.7%.

For average daily rates (ADR), Jeddah registered the biggest rise in September of 11.5 percent to $238.96 while Beirut was the worst performer with a 13.1% drop to $144.20.

Regionally, the Middle East/Africa region reported a 4.2% decrease to 58.1 percent in occupancy, a seven percent rise to $145.81 in ADR and a 2.5% rise to $84.78 in RevPAR.

Year-to-date September 2013, the region’s occupancy rose 1.7% to 60.5%, its ADR was up 3.3 percent to $160.82 and its RevPAR increased 5.1% to $97.35.

“Year to date, the Middle East is the only sub-region reporting positive results across all key performance indicators when measured in US dollar terms”, said Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global.

“GCC nations United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are two of the main drivers of this, as both are reporting strong year-to-date performance."