Egypt's tourism industry is expected to receive a boost over the next couple of months, as analysts predict Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh to become tourist hot spots over the next couple of months with forecasted growths of 8 per cent and 5per cent, respectively, in revenue per available room (RevPAR).

According to Colliers International’s Mena Hotel Forecast for July to September, the Red Sea resort in Hurghada continues to benefit from positive security perception and the return of chartered flights from traditional source markets. The growth in both occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) from the leisure segment is expected to drive RevPAR.

Similar to Hurghada, travel advisories from most source markets are now relatively relaxed resulting in a surge in international leisure demand. The market is growing from a relatively low base.

The report also showed that Fujairah and Abu Dhabi were among the GCC cities that were expected to maintain a confident and steady performance over the next few months, with Fujairah's RevPAR staying flat in Q3 and Abu Dhabi RevPAR edging up 3 per cent till September.

Abu Dhabi beach hotels, which witnessed strong momentum in occupancy in H1, are expected to see the same trend continue in Q3 as well, mostly driven by the leisure segment. Fujairah is expected to benefit from strong leisure demand over school vacations, Eid and weekends. However, the summer season sees limited demand from international tourists.

On the other hand, Manama and Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road/DIFC will continue to feel the negative impact of declines in travel demand. During Q3, occupancy and ADR levels in Manama are expected to fall, impacted by limited corporate and Mice activity, followed by subdued leisure demand, resulting in an 8 per cent decline in RevPAR for the period.

For Sheikh Zayed Road/DIFC, growing demand from more price-sensitive source markets will result in a drop in ADR, which will adversely impact RevPAR (down 7 per cent).

Overall, analysts forecast that Egypt and Jordan will experience an uptick in foreign arrivals, with RevPAR moving upwards, while the rest of the Middle East will see RevPAR either move downwards or stay flat as the summer season peaks. - TradeArabia News Service