LONDON - An STR analysis of the first half of Ramadan 2016 indicates that Mecca, Saudi Arabia, was the only major hotel market in the Middle East to experience an increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) during the first two weeks of the holiday.
STR compared preliminary daily data for six hotel markets in the Middle East from 6-20 June 2016 with the 18 June through 2 July Ramadan time period last year.
Key findings include:
- Mecca was the only major hotel market in the Middle East to experience an increase in RevPAR during the two-week time period. The market experienced a 1.3% increase in occupancy and an 8.5% increase in average daily rate, leading to a RevPAR increase of 9.9%.
- Muscat, Oman, experienced the steepest RevPAR decline during the two-week period, falling 23.4%. The decrease was caused equally by an 11.4% decrease in occupancy and a 13.8% drop in ADR.
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates, recorded a 2.9% increase in occupancy over the two-week period, but ADR was down 9.0%, resulting in a 6.4% decrease in RevPAR. STR analysts note that even with consistent supply growth, Dubai’s ADR remains among the highest for major global markets.
