The
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has led the world in hotel
price increases, according to HotelsCombined’s latest Hotel Price
Trends Report released today.
The
year-over-year report compared rates from December, January and
February 2011/2012 to December, January and February 2012/2013 and
found that hotels in the Middle East and North Africa increased in
price by eight per cent. Overall, hotel prices worldwide increased
four per cent.
While
as a region MENA led hotel price increases globally, the top
individual locations for price rises were: Alanya and Marmaris,
Turkey; Sousse, Tunisia; Bintan, Indonesia; and Vilamoura, Portugal.
Menorca,
Spain; Minsk, Belarus; Kiev, Ukraine; Beirut, Lebanon; and Rimini,
Italy experienced the most drastic price falls.
Demand
for Turkey’s ski resorts, which offer cheap package deals and
high-quality snow fields, as well as reported increases in food and
labour costs, saw Turkey in the top five price increase list twice.
Accommodation prices in Alanya, Turkey increased 66 per cent last
quarter, seeing it take the report’s number one spot. Marmaras,
Turkey was placed at number three with price increases of 37 per
cent.
On
the report, HotelsCombined.com PR and community manager Kristen
McKenzie said: “As we saw in last year’s report, the MENA region
continues to post the greatest price increases. Egypt and Tunisia
continue to show a strong rebound in tourism from the Arab Spring.
However, Lebanon continues to struggle, likely because of its
proximity to war-torn Syria.”
“It’s
no surprise the MENA region is once again demonstrating strong
growth. These destinations are booming for both leisure and business
travellers, thanks to continued investment and added attractions like
the world’s biggest ferris wheel planned for Dubai. We won’t see
this area slowing down its hotel rate increases anytime soon.”
“We
were, however, taken aback by the enormous rate spikes posted across
Turkey. While this is probably due to increases in labour and food
prices, as well as to the popularly of all-inclusive ski resorts,
it’s important to note that Turkey has experienced significant
technological growth recently, most especially within the online and
mobile sectors. It will be interesting to see how this progress
continues to impact Turkey’s tourism industry moving forward.”
South
East Asia also reported a spike in hotel rates with an overall price
increase of six per cent. Bintan, Indonesia posted price rises of 37
per cent. Part of South East Asia’s healthy rate increase can be
attributed to the steady stream of Australian tourists heading there
due to the strong Australian dollar.
Key
findings:
- Turkey was the most impressive success story, with all major destinations posting significant price increases
- Neighbouring Greece overall showed significant price increases, signs perhaps of recovery from their recent financial burdens
Many
major European destinations such as Amsterdam, Bucharest,
Budapest, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Kiev, Lisbon,
Madrid, Oslo, Paris and Warsaw experienced moderate to
significant price decreases
