RevPAR (revenue per available room) across the Middle East rose 10.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 2011– 50 per cent greater than Asia and North America, said an expert.

While these figures varied between the major cities, Dubai claimed occupancy at 86.6 per cent and an average daily rate of more than $250, according to Elizabeth Randall managing director at STR Global.

Randall was speaking at the three-day annual Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) 2012, which opened yesterday (April 28) at the Madinat Jumeirah.

“While the average occupancy in the Middle East was 69 per cent, in markets such as Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, occupancy levels were down,” Randall said.

Moderator Nenad Pacek, president of Global Success Advisors and an expert on emerging markets stressed the role of the oil price in underpinning current and future development: “Most of the growth in the Middle East has been generated by high oil prices, while the Arab Spring contributed to an increase in government spending throughout the region,” he said.

“The fundamentals in the region, particularly the GCC, are among the best in the world given the combination of oil revenues, official reserves and the contribution of sovereign wealth funds,” he added, although warning that all sums could be jeopardised if oil prices were to fall substantially.

Turning to current performance in the hospitality and tourism sectors, more than in past years the region was now divided into winners and losers, with the outcome for the latter dependent on risk perception for investors, according to the latest performance monitors.

Stewart Coggans, regional executive vice president for Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels emphasised the polarisation of regional markets, stressing the role of Dubai as regional leader in terms of performance.

“The market here is equipped to absorb the 12,000 rooms in the pipeline in the city with a healthy balance of 50:50 in terms of corporate and leisure business,” he said.  “Abu Dhabi, with an 80:20 split is not as robust with the 2,000 rooms opening in 2011 leading to a decline in average daily rate of 16 per cent.”

Saudi Arabia was expected star performer for developers in the Middle East, meanwhile, with stellar growth in domestic travel and religious tourism, giving Makkah the biggest regional revPAR growth at 33.8 per cent in 2011, as well as a pipeline figure, together with Madinah, of 20,000 rooms.

For the hospitality industry, the figures underlined two contrasting points, according to AHIC organiser, Jonathan Worsley, chairman & CEO Bench Events and Board Member STR Global.

“While oil revenues are sustaining economic growth in the major producing countries and funding development of their travel and tourism industries, we have seen Dubai emerge as a striking example of a market that has thrived and survived with minimal oil reserves but a combination of private and public investment and joint will to balance supply and demand,” he said.

“Oil rich economies are using their wealth to diversify away from dependency on hydrocarbon revenue. This is very prudent and will benefit them in the long run. However, Dubai’s sustainable model could be adopted by non-oil economies,” he added. 

Held under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, chairman Dubai Airports and Chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline & Group, organiser Meed Events in partnership with Bench Events has attracted more than 80 speakers and over 500 local and international delegates representing more than 40 countries. – TradeArabia News Service