DUBAI: Hotels across the Middle East and Africa reported big drops in occupancy and revenue rates in the first quarter of the year, with Beirut, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi performing well, an industry survey showed on Thursday. Occupancy rates across the region declined 11.8 percent to 62 percent in the first quarter, compared to the same period last year, according to the STR Global report seen by Reuters. In comparison, Asia Pacific occupancies dropped 15 percent and the Americas fared slightly better, with a fall of 10.6 percent. Revenue per available room (RevPAR), an industry benchmark, fell 12.4 percent to $102.48, compared with a 29.7 percent fall in Asia Pacific and a 18.4 percent decline in the Americas. The bottom five markets in terms of occupancy were led by Jordanian capital of Amman, which fell 20.3 percent, followed by Muscat in Oman, Cairo, Dubai and Istanbul. Dubai saw the highest drop in RevPAR, declining 36 percent to $203.4 from $317.6 in the first quarter of last year. The emirate's occupancy rate fell 16.7 percent to 72.4 percent from 86.9 percent in the previous year. "Dubai had fallen from very high rates, said Konstanze Auernheimer, director of marketing at STR Global. "With more supply coming online this year, it will be a tough market environment to work in. In addition, the economies in Dubai's source markets, such as the United Kingdom, have been impacted by the global financial crisis, which is expected to put pressure on the emirate to find new markets that will bring in the same amount of visitors, Auernheimer said. Dubai suffering Dubai, one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates, sparked a construction boom when it allowed foreigners to buy property in 2002. Luxury resorts, hotels, serviced apartments and holiday villas mushroomed, leading to a sharp increase tourists. With the financial crisis, the emirate's economy has begun to suffer as fewer people holiday there. Hotels in neighboring emirate Abu Dhabi, the UAE's capital and the world's third largest oil exporter, have been somewhat shielded from the impact of the crisis with RevPAR increasing almost 17 percent in the first quarter to $289.9. However, this might change in April's results, as the Abu Dhabi's revPAR was $272 in March, the same figure recorded in March 2008. Out of 11 cities reviewed, Beirut recorded the highest increase in occupancy and revPAR. Occupancy in Beirut rose 84.2 percent to 66 percent, and RevPAR rose 156 percent to $110.32, as the city, which relies heavily on visits home by Lebanese expatriates, goes through a period of relative political calm. The trends in the last three months are expected to have continued into April, said Auernheimer. "In April, the overall decline continues across the Middle East, but it is expected that the region still performed better than the other global regions.
