Makkah and Madinah in Saudi Arabia were the only major hotel markets in the Middle East to experience increases in revenue per available room (RevPAR) during Ramadan 2016, new data showed.

Makkah saw RevPAR increase 8.3 per cent, driven by a 3.9 per cent rise in occupancy and a 4.3 per cent lift in average daily rate. RevPAR grew 2.6 per cent in Madinah, with occupancy up 1.5 per cent and ADR up 1.1 per cent.

Muscat, Oman, witnessed the steepest decline in RevPAR, down 24.8 per cent during Ramadan from 18.6 per cent during the May 2016 year-to-date period. The Ramadan RevPAR decrease in Muscat was driven mostly by a 14.0 per cent drop in ADR.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi, UAE, each saw a similar pattern, with larger performance declines during the Ramadan period, albeit at different paces. Specifically during Ramadan, Dubai reported flat occupancy but an 11.6 per cent decrease in ADR. Abu Dhabi reported a 7.7 per cent decline in occupancy and a 7.2 per cent drop in ADR.

Performance in Manama, Bahrain, was heavily affected by the holiday. For the May 2016 year-to-date period, RevPAR was up 2.2 per cent compared with the same period last year. During Ramadan, RevPAR declined 18.9 per cent, which was mainly a result of a 12.7 per cent decrease in ADR. - TradeArabia News Service