The hospitality sector in Saudi port city of Jeddah registered a negative performance with regard to occupancy rates and also revenue growth mainly due to a 10 per cent  jump in supply, said a report.

Last month there was a sharp drop in occupancy rates in hotels across Jeddah which fell from 13.5 per cent to 53.5 per cent, stated STR in its preliminary data for April.

According to the report, the average daily rates (ADR) grew 4.7 per cent to hit SR822.06 ($219.22); however the revenue per available room (REvPAR) fell 9.4 per cent to SR439.9 ($117.31).

Figures released by STR revealed that the absolute occupancy level was the lowest for an April in Jeddah since 2004, while the absolute RevPAR level would be the lowest for the month since 2008.

STR analysts note that heavy investments in the region, which led to a 15.8 per cent increase in supply for 2017, are making it difficult for hoteliers to stabilize RevPAR.

Demand fell 4.8 per cent in Jeddah, while supply grew 10 per cent, it added.-TradeArabia News Service