Abu Dhabi’s 142 hotels and hotel apartment had their best April on record last month with rises in most key performance indicators, according to figures released by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).

During the month some 236,704 guests checked into Abu Dhabi accommodation, marking a 20 per cent rise on April last year with guest nights jumping by almost a third to 738,797.

“One of the most encouraging results is the progress we are making, with our partners, in expanding the average-length-of-stay of Abu Dhabi’s hotel guests and this will remain one of our key deliverables throughout the coming months,” said Mubarak Al Muhairi, director general, TCA Abu Dhabi.

The average-length-of-stay of hotel guests during April was 3.12 nights, a growth of 8 per cent on the same month last year.

During April, Abu Dhabi’s occupancy rate climbed 12 per cent, revenue rose 18 per cent to Dh468.4 million ($127.6 million). Room revenue was up 21 per cent to Dh238.1 million, while F&B turned in yet another stellar performance rising 16 per cent to Dh183.8 million.

During April there was a slight dip of 6 per cent in the average room rate which stood at Dh453.

“There were a number of key events in Abu Dhabi during April – the hosting of the World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit and Abu Dhabi International Book Fair among them – and these will have delivered enhanced performance and demonstrate the importance of business events and exhibitions in the tourism mix,” added Al Muhairi.

April continues a month-on-month upward trend in guests, guest nights and average-length-of-stay for Abu Dhabi which is this year targeting an annual hotel guest performance of 2.5 million.

Performance for the first four months of this year shows 10 per cent growth in hotel guests to 868,121, a 25 per cent uplift in guest nights to 2.9 million, a 13 per cent rise in average- length-of-stay to 3.29 nights, a 9 per cent increase in occupancy to 73 per cent and a 16 per cent surge in total revenue to Dh1.9 billion with a slight dip of 3 per cent in average room rate to Dh480.

Domestic tourism remains solid with 283,856 guests from within the UAE delivering 649,114 guest nights in the first four months of this year with an average-length-of-stay of 2.29.

On the international front, the UK remains the emirate’s largest overseas source market for hotel guests with some 54,050 Britons staying in Abu Dhabi’s hotels in the first four months – a 10 per cent rise on the same period last year. They stayed on average, 4.71 nights – up 11 per cent on the corresponding period – and accounted for 254,768 guest nights – up 22 per cent.

India is the second largest overseas market for hotel guests. A total of 50,057 Indians checked into Abu Dhabi’s hotels from January to April this year – an 18 per cent lift on the same period last year. They accounted for 228,410 guest nights – which is up 51 per cent year-on-year – and stayed an average of 4.56 nights.

“India has been performing particularly well and we anticipate further growth from this market with Etihad Airways’ recent equity purchase in Jet Airways opening up additional Indian destinations to us and the launch of Jet Airways of a daily Kochi to Abu Dhabi flight,” added Al Muhairi.

German came in at third place with 44,033 German nationals staying in Abu Dhabi’s accommodation – a 22 per cent rise on the first four months of 2012. They accounted for 201,573 guest nights – which is up 30 per cent - and stayed on average for 4.58 nights.

Russia turned in the biggest percentage growth over the four months with 10,101 Russian nationals staying in the emirate – a 66 per cent increase on last year – which translated into 62,281 guest nights, which was up 73 per cent year-on-year. Russians are also proving to be the emirate’s longest stayers, averaging 6.17 nights. – TradeArabia News Service