The hotel industry in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) posted growth in the three key performance metrics during April 2017, according to data from STR,  a hotel data benchmarking firm.

April marked the first month since September 2014 that the Middle East registered year-over-year increases in each of the three key performance metrics with occupancy rates going up 7.3 per cent to reach 75.7 per cent, and average daily rate (ADR) jumping 2.8 per cent to $176.6. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) also climbed 10.3 per cent to $133.75.

Kuwait reported the highest occupancy growth, going up 16.2 per cent to 69.5 per cent with ADR inching up 1.2 per cent to KWD69.84 ($229.6). RevPAR moved up significantly, showing an increase of 17.6 per cent to KWD48.53 ($159.6).

This was the first month of ADR growth for Kuwait hotels since July 2016. STR analysts note that daily results showed considerable year-over-year increases in occupancy during the first 10 days of the month as Saudi Arabia school holidays drove an increase in leisure travelers to Kuwait.

Oman also recorded a significant increase in occupancy, going up 15.4 per cent to 68.1 per cent, while ADR jumped 5.7 per cent to OMR67.06 ($173.5). RevPAR climbed 22.0 per cent to OMR45.69 ($118.2).

Performance was boosted by the Oman Pediatric & Neonatal Conference, held from April 13-15 in Muscat. Oman’s RevPAR increased more than 40 per cent each day during the event. For the entire month, hotels in regional Oman managed to outperform the capital by posting 43.6 per cent growth in RevPAR. STR analysts attribute this to a significant increase (up 91.5 per cent) in group demand (bookings of 10 or more at once).

Hotels in the UAE experienced considerable uplift in transient demand as occupancy rates went up 7.2 per cent to 83.5 per cent and ADR rose 6.3 per cent to Dh705.32 ($191.9). RevPAR moved up 13.9 per cent to Dh588.64 ($160.2). At the market level, Dubai recorded a 17.6 per cent increase in RevPAR, compensating for a 6.5 per cent RevPAR decline in Abu Dhabi. Significant growth was seen in the upscale and upper midscale classes.

In Africa, occupancy rates jumped 5.3 per cent to 58.2 per cent while ADR climbed 11.6 per cent to $108.4. RevPAR made a significant move up, registering a 17.6 per cent increase to $63.11. - TradeArabia News Service