Hotel occupancy in Riyadh soared to its highest September level for four years, according to new data from analysts STR.
Hotels in the the Saudi capital saw occupancy increase by 26.7% to 56.3% last month compared to the same month in 2017.
STR analysts said they attributed a 33.4% jump in demand - room nights sold - to four events hosted at the Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Centre.
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The 56.3% absolute occupancy level was the highest for any September in the market since 2014 while the highest occupancy night came on September 25 (78.5%), which was the first day of the SFDA Annual Conference & Exhibition.
Average daily rates in the city hotels fell 8.7%, probably due to continued significant supply growth, which was nearly 6% in September.
STR data also showed that revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased by 15.7% last month.
The wider Middle East hospitality market reported a 7% decline in occupancy to 59.8% while ADR fell 18% and RevPAR slumped by nearly a quarter.