Dubai hotels see 3.3% increase in Q1 revenues

In what could be considered a big indication of revival in the tourism and hospitality sectors, the Dubai hotels witnessed a 3.3 per cent rise in their first quarter year-on- year revenues, said a senior Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) official.

The first quarter revenues for the current year stood at Dh3.77 billion as against Dh3.64bn in the first quarter last year. "We are optimistic about 2010 but I would not like to make futuristic projections," Saleh Al Geziry, Director Overseas Promotions and Inward Mission, DTCM, told Emirates Business when asked about 2010 projection.

According to him, the "new guest arrivals" too increased during the first quarter of the current year. More than two million guests arrived in the first quarter as against 1.99 million in the first quarter last year, marking a 5.1 per cent increase.

The hotel room occupancy rate on the other hand increased by 4.3 per cent from 73 per cent in Q1 2009 to 76.2 per cent in Q1 2010. Meanwhile, the total occupancy of hotel apartments stood at 66 per cent, while that of hotels stood at 70 per cent in 2009. The 2008 figures stood at 79 per cent occupancy for hotel apartments and 82 per cent occupancy for hotels.

"There are signs of recovery in Dubai hospitality sector with 7.58 million visitors having visited Dubai in 2009, an increase of one per cent against 2008. The number of rooms (hotel rooms) in Dubai too increased by 20 per cent," said Al Geziry.

The average room rate, meanwhile, saw a decline in the 2009 over 2008 figures. The DTCM figures show that average room rate stood at Dh582 for hotels and Dh416 hotel apartments in 2009. The same figure was Dh731 for hotels and Dh496 for hotel apartment in 2008.

According to industry trackers, Dubai hotels have been performing better in the current year when compared to the year earlier. Hotels throughout Dubai slashed their room rates drastically but they have seen an increase in their occupancy levels lately. As a result, the RevPAR (revenue per available room) declined in the regional hotels, say industry trackers.

The DTCM figures indicate the average length of stay (in days) saw an increase by 11.4 per cent from 2.68 in Q1 2009 to 2.98 in Q1 2010. The total number of hotels, including hotel apartments, increased by 5.4 per cent from 522 in Q1 2009 to 550 in Q1 2010. According to a recently published JLL report, the hotel supply would be affected in 2010 and would decline than the earlier projected supply.

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