10% rise in Abu Dhabi hotel guests

Significant increases in hotel guest numbers, occupancies and revenues are helping Abu Dhabi to inch closer to achieving its stretched target of receiving two million guests this year, according to the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA). The tourism body yesterday said that the number of guests staying in hotels and hotel apartments increased 10 per cent in the first four months of the year over the same period in 2010 to 694,181. Last year, Abu Dhabi hotels hosted around 1.81 million guests, 18 per cent more than the previous year and eight per cent above target. Guest nights in the hotels increased 26 per cent to 2.1 million in the first four months of this year, and room nights climbed 21 per cent to 1.6 million. Hotel occupancy levels, meanwhile, increased 10 per cent to 72 per cent, as the average length of stay expanded 14 per cent to just over three nights, according to ADTA. Etihad fuels growth "It's a solid all-round performance which we look to maintain over the coming months with our six-week ‘Summer in Abu Dhabi' festival incentivising visitors, particularly those from within the GCC, with a range of activities, discounts and deals across attractions and hotels," Lawrence Franklin, ADTA's Strategy and Policy Director, said in a statement. Further, with a total supply of 29,100 hotel rooms expected to come online by 2012, as per ADTA numbers, Abu Dhabi tourism is getting a tremendous push from flag carrier Eithad Airways and various other tourism projects due to come on board in the next few years. "We have reaped the benefits of various stakeholder initiatives including the Yas Show Weekends and the Etihad Airways-led ‘Essential Abu Dhabi' incentive campaign, which continues to gain momentum," said Franklin, adding that increasing air links to the UAE capital are set to drive future growth. He outlined this week's launch by Cathay Pacific of four a week flights from Hong Kong to Abu Dhabi as one example. Total hotel and hotel apartment revenue in the first four months of 2011 surged seven per cent to Dh1.6 billion, of which room revenue accounted for Dh877.8 million — a five per cent increase on the year-to-date period, according to ADTA. Average room rates for the period (January-April 2011), however, dropped 15 per cent from the previous year to Dh545 with revenue per available room (RevPAR) falling six per cent to Dh394.42. Demand Commenting on Abu Dhabi's strong performance, Alex Kyriakidis, Global Managing Director for Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure, Deloitte & Touche (Middle East), recently told Gulf News: "Abu Dhabi is seeing an uptake in demand, with the number of rooms in the capital having doubled over the last 18-odd months. "But even so, we saw the occupancy going up to 67 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the 55 per cent occupancy in the same period last year for Abu Dhabi hotels." According to ADTA, much of the first-quarter performance was due to the business and leisure events that took place in the capital during the period. Focus on key segments ADTA's Franklin said that a strong increase in future demand for the year is anticipated from events including mainly November's Grand Prix and the 40th UAE National Day celebrations in early December. Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General of ADTA, said in February that in order to achieve 2011's target, the tourism authority would focus on five specific tourism segments to deliver on its aspirations, namely, cruises, golf, educational, events, and culture and heritage segments. The biggest source markets for Abu Dhabi's tourism sector include the domestic UAE market, the UK and Germany, with Saudi Arabia topping the GCC market charts, according to ADTA. While the traditional European source markets performed well with the UK and Germany both rising 19 per cent year-on-year to 50,846 and 24,958 respectively in January-April, the hotels saw a 35 per cent increase in guests from France to 17,872 and Italian guests increased by 20 per cent. Saudi Arabia emerged at the top position in the region with a 46 per cent rise in guests from the kingdom year-on-year to 19,375. Meanwhile, emerging markets such as Russia, where ADTA began on-the-ground representation this year, produced 50 per cent more guests in the first four months of the year than it did in the same period last year. And guests from India - now Abu Dhabi's second-largest international market, increased 29 per cent, ADTA said. Giving an additional push to ADTA's target is Abu Dhabi International Airport, which is expected to handle up to 40 million passengers once its $6.8 billion expansion plan is complete.