SCAD: Abu Dhabi Hotels record over 2 million guest nights in Q1,2013

Abu Dhabi, July 10, 2013 (WAM) - The Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) has announced that Abu Dhabi hotels have hosted a total of 2.1 million guest nights in the first quarter of 2013, an increase of 22.8 per cent compared to the same period last year. According to the bulletin, the number of hotel establishments' guests increased by 6.1 per cent over the first quarter of 2013, compared with Q1 2012. Occupancy rate and the average length of stay also grew over the same period by 8.0 per cent and 15.7 per cent, respectively. The number of guests grew to 631400 in Q1 2013 compared with the same period in 2012. The occupancy rate for the period under review was 73.5 per cent, an increase of 8 per cent year-on-year. The first quarter also saw guest nights grow by 22.8 per cent to 2.12 million. The average length of stay in hotel apartments was three nights longer than hotels. Similarly, the occupancy rate was higher for hotel apartments (82.5 per cent) compared with hotels (70.8 per cent). The majority (84.2 per cent) of guests in Q1 2013 stayed in hotels in the Abu Dhabi area, compared with 11.8 per cent in the Al Ain region and 4.0 per cent in the Al Gharbia region. The average length of stay was 3.57 nights in Abu Dhabi, 2.03 nights in Al Ain and 2.84 nights in the Al Gharbia region. The report data indicates an increase in guests for all nationalities in the first quarter of 2013, excluding UAE and GCC nationals; the largest increase during the reference period was in the number of guests from non-Arab African countries, which advanced by 24.3 per cent compared with Q1 2012, followed by guests from non-Arab Asian countries (19.0 per cent). Meanwhile, the numbers of guests from the UAE and GCC countries decreased over the same period by 4.8 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively. Detailed by hotel classification, guests of five-star hotels accounted for 36.8 per cent of total in Q1 2013, followed by four-star hotels with 28.6 per cent, three-star or less with 20.2 and guests in hotel apartments with 14.5 per cent. Guests from Europe preferred to stay in high-grade hotels as 49.4 per cent stayed in five-star hotels, while 22.2 per cent of guests from other Arab countries stayed in five-star hotels and 20.6 of them in hotels apartments. As the report data indicates, the average length of stay increased for all nationalities in the first quarter of 2013 to 3.36 nights, an increase of 3.7 per cent compared with Q1 2012. Guests from non-Arab African countries accounted for the highest increase (24.7 per cent) in the average length of stay, followed by guests from Asia (excluding Arab countries) with 23.1 per cent, and guests from within the UAE with 21.4 per cent. The highest average length of stay in the first quarter of 2013 was 5.44 nights recorded by guests from North and South America, followed by European guests with 4.64 nights. The lowest average length of stay was 2.25 nights, recorded by GCC guests, followed by guests from UAE with 2.29 nights. The occupancy rate (the number of guest nights divided by the number of available rooms over a given reference period) is a significant indicator for the performance of hotel establishments. The rate rose by 8.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 compared with the same quarter in the previous year. The highest occupancy rate was reported in Abu Dhabi region (74.9 per cent), followed by Al Ain (64.3 per cent) and Al Gharbia (57.8 per cent). Hotel apartments recorded an occupancy rates of 82.5 per cent, compared with 70.8 for hotels. According to SCAD's study, the total revenues of hotel establishments advanced to Dh 1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2013, up 15.1 per cent compared with the previous year. – Emirates News Agency, WAM