Dubai recorded 2016’s highest first-quarter average daily rate (ADR) among major markets around the world, marking the 12th consecutive year that the emirate has led this group of markets in Q1 ADR, said a report.

Even with a 10.1 per cent drop in year-over-year comparisons, Dubai’s ADR for Q1 2016 was $234.88. Only three other major markets finished the quarter with ADR levels above $200.00 in constant currency: Paris, France; New York, US; and Singapore, said a report by STR Global.

“January through March is typically a slower time for other popular markets like New York, London and Paris,” said Philip Wooller, STR’s Middle East and Africa area director. “But these are peak months for Dubai, as temperatures are more moderate, drawing in visitors from around the world. Dubai also has been one of the top five markets for year-end ADR levels every year since 2002, proving itself as the premier hotel market in the Middle East and as one of the top hotel markets in the world.”

According to The Q1 2016 Dubai MarketView by global real estate consultancy firm CBRE, various factors including expanding supply, sustained US dollar strength, and global economic uncertainty resulted in further deflation across all key performance indicators for Dubai during the first quarter.

Figures published by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) showed that Dubai attracted around 4.1 million visitors during the first quarter of 2016, which reflected a 5.1 per cent increase over the same period last year. Growth was primarily driven by a solid increase in visitor numbers from the GCC and India.

“The GCC comprised roughly one quarter of all visitors to the emirate, driven by strong growth from Dubai’s main source market, Saudi Arabia.  The number of Saudi guests rose by close to 14 per cent, with 476,000 overnight visitors recoded in the period January to March.  Oman was identified as the second largest source market in the GCC with 322,000 visitors, which was 32 per cent higher than the same period in 2015. This was then followed by Kuwait and Qatar,” said Mat Green, head of research and consulting, CBRE Middle East.

Outside of the GCC region, India remains the key source of visitors, with 467,000 guests recorded during Q1, equating to a 17 per cent increase over 2015 performance.  There was also strong growth from the UK, with a 10 per cent increase year-on-year against the arrival of 334,000 visitors.

Dubai's hospitality performance is expected to remain under pressure with further declines in occupancy, ADRs and RevPar expected during the course of the year. This is being driven primarily by the strong US dollar and heightened competition caused by the significant new supply. - TradeArabia News Service