Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Bahrain and Yemen all record a significant turnaround in RevPAR from the major drop this time last year when political instability plagued the region’s sector, according to MKG Hospitality.
End-of-year hotel results for 2012 reveal steady recovery for the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region, with over 8% RevPAR growth over the corresponding period last year. This was driven by a 4.2 point increase in Occupancy Rate (OR) and 1% in Average Daily Rate (ADR).
“Of course this change in yearly performance indicators is mainly due to comparisons with the severely depressed figures this time last year, a time when much of the region was still in turmoil from the Arab Spring and civil unrests,” states Director of Development, MKG Hospitality, Vanguelis Panayotis. “So, although there is recovery shown, the situation is still quite fragile and certainly susceptible to another dip.”
Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Bahrain and Yemen all record a significant turnaround in RevPAR from the major drop this time last year when political instability plagued the region’s sector. Despite on-going demonstrations, Egypt also manages an increase in demand, and in doing so, pushes RevPAR up by over 11% in 2012. Hoteliers here are reducing average prices in order to stimulate demand and reverse the poor results from the previous year. Morocco remains more or less stable, which actually represents reasonable recovery considering the major decline it experienced at the beginning of the year. If all goes well, the country should continue its path towards full recovery.
Oman remained more or less stable, whilst Qatar and Lebanon record negative upon negative. Qatar’s decline is mainly due to continued increase in supply, which will no doubt need time to be fully absorbed. For Lebanon it will be much more difficult, as the country is directly influenced by the conflict in Syria, as well as its own domestic issues. Many countries still have strict travel warning to the country, whilst most GCC governments – a traditional key source market – are still preventing citizens from travelling to Lebanon (ban in place since August).
Most markets in the Middle East and North Africa region post an increase in RevPAR in 2012, driven mainly by better demand according to MKG Hospitality’s market monitoring database Hotel-CompSet.
Meanwhile, Algeria, Turkey, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the UAE and to a lesser extent Kuwait all posted growthon-growth. “These markets maintained stability, and have strong business segments. Their performances have been consistent throughout the year, and no doubt even managed to attract demand that would have otherwise gone elsewhere in the region,” adds Panayotis.
In the GCC, KSA posts the best change, with RevPAR up by 12% for the year. Strong business traffic and MICE, as well as exceptional results during religious holidays -as always- are driving momentum. The UAE also continues steady growth (up by 4.6%), driven by higher ADR results, especially in Dubai with its strong leisure appeal and consistent MICE segments.
“No doubt, the region still has many challenges to confront; the most obvious being political stability in some troubled country markets and overall regaining credibility as a safe and attractive destination for travellers. At the same time, economic woes in key source markets Europe and North America will certainly not help to drive new tourism activity to the region at a time when needed most,” continues Panayotis.
“As such, markets must continue to battle and compete globally, attempting to stimulate purchasing behaviour during a period of such low consumption in business and leisure sectors. Intra-regional travel will also be a high priority in order to make up the difference.”
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
