Back-to-business in October and a month of normality for most markets in the Middle East & North Africa region, following summer and the holiday break.
Hotel performances continue to improve in October throughout MENA, indicating stability and a better road to recovery. “October is a truer indication of where the hospitality industry is at and where we might expect it to be in 2011. Certainly most markets are far better off than 12 months ago, especially countries in the core Middle East and GCC,” states Director of Development Vanguelis Panayotis.Good growth also continues further afield in key North African destinations. This is fuelled by hordes of leisure travellers and groups, usually on all-inclusive holiday deals, as well as a return to domestic and intra-regional business. Countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco all post very good results in October. RevPAR in Tunisia increases by over 17%, almost 15% in Morocco, over 10% in Jordan and 8.5% in Egypt. This all-round growth was mainly driven by increases in prices, as demand remained relatively stable.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) rebounds from the previous month and shows RevPAR growth of almost 19%, driven by a 5 point increase in occupancy rate (OR) and a 7.5% rise in average daily rate (ADR). Kuwait also shows exceptional RevPAR growth at over 15%, thanks in large to a 6 point increase in demand. Other positive results came from Bahrain, with RevPAR growth of over 7% and Oman at 6.7%. Despite an increase in demand, a major drop in prices pushed RevPAR downwards in Qatar. “As per the industry’s cycle however, Qatar should see these prices improve by the end of the year and beginning of 2011, helping to drive RevPAR back into the green zone,” add Panayotis.
