Dubai's Hotel occupancy rose almost 16 percent in Dubai in February in a sign of tourism reviving in the city-state suffering from an economic downturn, while neighbouring Abu Dhabi suffered a big drop , hospitality research firm STR Global said in its latest survey.
The Middle East region overall reported increases in occupancy, revenue per available room (RevPAR) and average daily rate, the three key measures of hotel performance.
Dubai's occupancy level rose 15.9 percent to 86.2 percent, the largest increase in the region, followed by Muscat, which jumped 10 percent to 73.2 percent.
"The Middle East/Africa region reported its first positive month of RevPAR growth since the second half of 2008, resulting in only a 0.8 percent RevPAR decline for the first two months of this year, which is a marked improvement from a 10 percent RevPAR decline in the fourth quarter 2009," STR Global Managing Director Elizabeth Randall said in a statement.
Dubai hotels had a dreadful year in 2009 as the global recession saw its RevPAR declining 31 percent to $163, while occupancy fell 10.2 percent to 69.4 percent during the year, according to STR Global.
The February hotel performance makes a sharp turnaround in its fortunes, coupled with a 22.6 percent rise in passenger numbers at Dubai International Airport.
Abu Dhabi was the worst performer in the region last month, with occupancy dropping 31.2 percent to 58.9 percent, average daily room rate falling 39.9 percent to $233, and RevPAR slumping by 58.7 percent to $137.3.
Room occupancy for the region was 1.9 percent higher at 65.7 percent and RevPAR grew 3.6 percent to $109. Beirut saw the biggest jump in RevPAR, increasing 48.1 percent to $243.
