Hotels across Dubai recorded a small drop in average occupancy by 0.3 per cent in October compared to the same time last year, due to the additional supply of hotel rooms, a report said.

Dubai also witnessed a slight decrease in the average daily rate (ADR), from $324 in October 2013 to $320 in October, resulting in a decline in revenue per available room (RevPAR) of 1.7 per cent, according to the Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey Report for the month of October released by EY, a leading provider of assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services.

“The hospitality industry in the Mena region witnessed ongoing growth across key performance indicators (KPI’s) in October 2014, continuing the recovery from the summer slowdown and moving towards the industry’s peak winter season,” said Yousef Wahbah, Mena head of Transaction Real Estate at EY, commenting on the report.

In the wider Mena region, the hospitality markets in Cairo, Doha, Beirut and Riyadh witnessed positive increases in October.

With the relatively stable political situation in Cairo’s hospitality market, Egypt continued to witness significant growth in average occupancy, increasing from 19 per cent in October 2013 to 50 per cent in October.

The increase in occupancy was coupled with a jump in ADR, from $72 in October 2013 to $112 in October 2014, resulting in another triple digit rise in RevPar by 300.6 per cent during the same period last year.

In Doha, the hospitality market also witnessed an increase in occupancy, from 67.0 per cent in October 2013 to 77 per cent in October. The increase in occupancy was paired with a jump in ADR, from $253 in October 2013 to $272 in October.

This resulted in a rise in RevPar by 23.5 per cent in October 2014 when compared to October 2013. These increases can be attributed to many GCC nationals coming to Doha during the Eid Al Adha Holiday, said Wahbah.

Beirut’s hospitality market continued its positive trend month over month, with average occupancy increasing from 49 per cent in October 2013 to 59 per cent in October. This resulted in a rise in RevPar by 20.3 per cent from US$83 in October 2013 to $100 in October.

The hospitality market in Riyadh also witnessed positive increases, with overall occupancy increasing by 3 per cent and RevPar increasing by 9.1 per cent in October 2014.

“The hospitality market in the Mena region continued to recover in October, as we entered the peak season of the industry. With the winter months attracting more tourists and the seasonal increase in events and conferences, we can predict further increases in overall occupancy rates across the region. We expect this growth to continue into the beginning months of 2015,” Wahbah concluded. – TradeArabia News Service