DUBAI - Hotels in the UAE saw occupancy levels rise in December for the first time in many months in what could be light at the end of a very dark tunnel for the country's hospitality industry in 2009, data from STR Global showed on Wednesday.
Occupancy levels rose 1.7 percent to 65.5 percent during the month, compared to the year-earlier period, the hospitality research firm said.
Revenues, however, continued to fall, with revenue per available room (RevPar), a key measure of performance, slumping 20.3 percent to 569.35 dirhams ($155), STR said.
Occupancy and revenues fell across the Middle East during the month. Occupancy levels fell 2.4 percent to 56.8 percent, while RevPAR was down 7.9 percent to $94.53, it said.
For the whole of 2009 occupancy in the Middle East dropped 10.9 percent to 62.0 percent compared to the previous year, while RevPar fell by 13.3 percent to $95.44, it added.
STR said Dubai hotels witnessed the worst declines in revenue among Middle Eastern cities last year with a drop of more than 30 percent on 2008, while Muscat hotels saw the worst occupancy drop, falling 21.1 percent to 53.6 percent.
Beirut's hotels gained the most during the year as occupancy rose 27.5 percent to 70.9 percent and RevPar soared 62.1 percent to $145.53, it said.
