Abu Dhabi hotels also suffered a drop in occupancy rates of 24 percent to just 64 percent. Abu Dhabi hotels also suffered a drop in occupancy rates of 24 percent to just 64 percent.

Abu Dhabi hotels continued their 2010 performance slump in March, latest figures from STR Global reveal.

Revenue per available room in the UAE capital plummeted 45 percent, compared to the same month in 2009, the largest year-on-year decline in the Middle East and Africa region.

The city also saw the largest drop in average daily rates, with a fall of nearly 28 percent.

Abu Dhabi hotels also suffered a drop in occupancy rates of 24 percent to just 64 percent.

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According to STR Global, the city's hotels have seen double digit drops each month since January.

Overall, the Middle East/Africa region reported increases in all three measurements, said STR Global, although this was boosted by improvements in Africa.

“Hotels in the Middle East/Africa region posted their second month of revPAR growth in March, finishing the first quarter with a 1-percent increase,” said Elizabeth Randall, managing director of STR Global.

“The region’s performance was pushed up by strong results from African hotels whilst Middle Eastern hotels reported revPAR declines for the month and the quarter."

She added that Middle East hotels still reported the highest ADR with $212 of all world sub-regions for the month of March.”

Dubai's occupancy rose to 79 percent in March compared to 73.3 percent in March 2009, while ADR fell 4.8 percent and revPAR rose by 2.4 percent.

For the quarter, occupancy rates in Dubai were up 10.4 percent while ADR fell by 14.8 and revPAR by six percent.

Saudi Arabia saw increases in all three sectors in March as occupancy rates rose by more than four percent, ADR by one percent and revPAR by 5.2 percent.

The latest STR Global figures also showed that Muscat, Oman, reported the only double-digit occupancy increase, rising 15.5 percent to 69.1 percent.