Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada hotels continued to grow from their low base in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017. The two cities started to regain their position as touristic hotspots, as Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada are expected to witness growth of 48% and 27% respectively in revenues per available rooms (RevPAR), Colliers International said in its latest MENA Hotels Forecast report, released last month. The report explained that the witnessed rebound is a result of an improved security perception, assuring that Colliers forecasts that this trend will continue in Q1 2018. The report also stated that Saudi Arabia's Jeddah and Oman's Muscat maintained their steady performances, explaining that Jeddah is expected to witness a growth of 1% in RevPAR due to the Umrah pilgrimage season and school holidays. Meanwhile, "Muscat is expected to witness an increase in demand due to corporate MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and events) and some leisure activity which resulted in a growth occupancy versus last year," according to the report. At the same time, Muscat is expected to witness a slight decrease of 1% in RevPAR. On the other hand, the report said the UAE's Fujairah and Bahrain's Manama continue to feel the negative consequences of the decline in leisure demands and limited corporate and MICE demand. Manama and Fujairah are expected to respectively witness 11% and 9% decline in RevPAR from February to April 2018. Colliers International Hotels is a global network of specialist consultants in the hotel, resort, marina, golf, leisure, and spa sectors, dedicated to providing strategic advisory services to owners, developers, and government institutions to extract best values from projects and assets.
