LONDON—The Middle East/Africa region suffered declines in all three key measurements in year-over-year results when reported in U.S. dollars for July 2009, according to data compiled by STR Global.
The region’s occupancy dropped 11.0 percent to 62.0 percent; average daily rate decreased 3.0 percent to US$135.02; and revenue per available room decreased 13.6 percent to US$83.77.
“The Middle East/Africa region posted mixed performance in July in local currency, with the Middle East improving on June’s data and Southern Africa showing significantly worse figures”, said James Chappell, managing director of STR Global. “RevPAR growth in the Middle East finally showed some signs of improvement, with the United Arab Emirates and Dubai making significant gains. The UAE improved from a RevPAR fall of almost 28 percent in June to just over a 20-percent decrease in July, with Dubai rising from a RevPAR decrease of 33.9 percent to a 24-percent decrease, with both occupancy and average rates showing an increase month to month. Ramadan is earlier this year and that may have caused a flurry of travel in advance of the holiday. August and September are traditionally quiet months for the region. South Africa had two large football tournaments in June, which are being seen as a precursor to next year’s World Cup, and the July figures pale in comparison, with RevPAR falling from a 5.8-percent decrease to a 4.1-percent decline in July as the occupancy and rate levels both declined”.
Highlights from key markets in the Middle East/Africa region (percentages are July 2009 vs. July 2008):
• Beirut, Lebanon, reported the largest increases in all three key metrics. Occupancy was up 16.9 percent to 86.6 percent, ADR rose 48.9 percent to US$295.71, and RevPAR jumped 74.0 percent to US$256.15.
• Cape Town, South Africa, was the only other key market to post an occupancy increase, up 4.5 percent to 52.2 percent.
• Three markets experienced occupancy decreases of 20 percent or more: Muscat, Oman (-29.1 percent to 34.7 percent); Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (-28.4 percent to 51.7 percent); and Johannesburg/Pretoria, South Africa (-20.0 percent to 62.0 percent).
• Other than Beirut, three other key markets reported double-digit ADR increases: Cape Town (+14.8 percent to US$115.87); Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (+12.6 percent to US$187.28); and Amman, Jordan (+12.5 percent to US$150.31).
• Istanbul, Turkey (-23.5 percent to US$198.59) reported the largest ADR decrease, followed by Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with a 16.4-percent decrease to US$164.48.
• Cape Town posted a double-digit RevPAR increase of 19.9 percent to US$60.45.
• Five markets experienced RevPAR decreases of more than 20 percent: Istanbul (-33.2 percent to US$130.27); Muscat (-31.9 percent to US$62.17); Riyadh (-24.6 percent to US$119.01); Dubai (-24.1 percent to US$107.09); and Johannesburg/Pretoria (-21.1 percent to US$66.27).
Performances of key countries in July (all monetary figures in local currency):
|
Country
|
Occupancy
|
% change
|
ADR
|
% change
|
RevPAR
|
% change
|
|
Egypt
|
67.4%
|
-10.9%
|
EGP424.57
|
-0.6%
|
EGP286.20
|
-11.4%
|
|
Saudi Arabia
|
63.5%
|
-10.7%
|
SAR594.48
|
+0.1%
|
SAR377.37
|
-10.6%
|
|
South Africa
|
59.5%
|
-12.7%
|
ZAR803.20
|
+9.9%
|
ZAR478.01
|
-4.1%
|
|
United Arab Emirates
|
65.0%
|
-8.6%
|
AED609.58
|
-13.0%
|
AED396.43
|
-20.5%
|
*percentages are increases/decreases for July 2009 vs. July 2008
View Global Hotel Review for July 2009.
About STR & STR Global:
For more than 20 years, Smith Travel Research has been the recognized leader for hotel industry benchmarking and research. Smith Travel Research and STR Global offer monthly, weekly and daily STAR benchmarking reports to more than 37,000 hotel clients, representing nearly 5 million rooms worldwide. STR is headquartered in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and STR Global is based in London. For more information, visit www.strglobal.com or www.HotelNewsNow.com.
Media contacts:
Konstanze Auernheimer
Director of Marketing
STR Global
KAuernheimer@strglobal.com
+44 (0)207 922 1961
Jeff Higley
Director of Communications/Editorial Director, Digital Media
jeff@smithtravelresearch.com
+1 (615) 824-8664 ext. 3318
Rachael Spann
Communications Coordinator
spann@smithtravelresearch.com
+1 (615) 824-8664 ext. 3305
