UAE hotels on path to recovery

Recent hospitality industry reports and analysis published by STR and Colliers International have revealed that hotels in the UAE have put up a sterling performance, given the challenges of operating during the pandemic last year. The Hotel Summit being organised by ATM on May 18 will address and debate the trends and key drivers that will support the Middle East hotel sector’s recovery.

To support the hotel industry still further during the vaccine rollout, Arabian Travel Market (ATM), which will take place in-person at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from May 16-19, 2021, is organising a Hotel Summit on May 18. The event will address and debate the trends and key drivers that will support the Middle East hotel sector’s recovery as the vaccine rollout gathers momentum and herd immunity takes effect. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said, “According to STR data, the Middle East region was a top performer globally during 2020, with average occupancy of 45.9 per cent. One of best performing countries was the UAE with an average occupancy of 51.7 per cent and an average daily rate (ADR) of $114. Although these figures were 29.3 per cent & 16.5 per cent down Y-on-Y, given the challenges presented by the pandemic, it is a remarkable achievement and proves just how resilient the hotel sector is in the UAE and wider Middle East. Furthermore, if we drill down on these figures, ADR in Fujairah and RAK actually rose last year by seven per cent and one per cent respectively, compared with 2019 and over the New Year’s celebrations hotels in Dubai were running average occupancies of 76 per cent with an ADR of $300.”

“I am certain that many hoteliers in the Middle East are now preparing for a V-shaped recovery, especially with the successful rollout of the vaccine and the ensuing herd immunity,” added Curtis. Indeed, more positives can be drawn from a recent YouGov luxury survey which revealed that more than half (52 per cent) of the respondents said they were planning to take a domestic holiday or staycation during 2021 and a further 25 per cent were planning to make a business trip, either domestically or internationally, with only four per cent having no plans to travel anywhere in 2021.

“Moreover, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also indicated that British nationals may be allowed to travel without any restrictions as soon as June 21, which, given their close ties, would be a major boost for business
and leisure travel throughout the Middle East,” shared Curtis.