While Dubai reported a 1.3 percent drop in revenue per
available room (RevPAR) to $105.53 in July, Riyadh ended the month almost flat
with a 0.3-percent decrease to $113.67, the report said.
Overall, the region witnessed a 0.1 percent increase in
occupancy level last month as average daily rate increased 11.8 percent to $145
and RevPAR grew 11.8 percent to $88.82.
Abu Dhabi recorded the largest occupancy decrease, falling
23 percent to 51.6 percent in July. The market also reported the largest
decrease in average daily rate (ADR) of 28.1 percent at $141.54 as RevPAR fell
44.7 percent to $73.10.
Amman, the Jordan’s capital, was the only city to achieve
the largest and only double-digit occupancy increase with a 14 percent rise to
68.3 percent last month, according to the report.
“The good news for the Middle East is that demand showed
continued growth against last year, and the sub region still recorded one of
the highest ADRs ($162) only beaten by the strong ADR in Southern Africa [$175]
due to the FIFA World Cup, which ended mid-July”, said Elizabeth Randall,
managing director of STR Global.
“However, the Middle East was the only sub region reporting
RevPAR declines in July. It will be interesting to see if the slowing decline
will continue during the coming months. Northern and Southern Africa continued
on their RevPAR recovery path, and the smooth running of a joyful World Cup
will bring additional interest to the region,” said Randall.
The Asia/Pacific region’s occupancy rose 9.6 percent to 67.3
percent, average daily rate increased 11.9 percent to $124.69 and revenue per
available room jumped 22.7 percent to $83.94.
“July was another good month for Asia/Pacific with an
increase of more than 20 percent RevPAR, resulting from continued strong demand
(+13 percent) with only moderate supply increases (+3 percent),” said Randall.
“While July was the first month this year with occupancy
increases below 10 percent, which was influenced by the region’s reporting of
lower drops in occupancy levels in July 2009, we would expect to see
continuance of the current trend. The year-to-date RevPAR, though, is still
below year-to-date 2008 results ($82 compared to $93),” said Randall.
The Americas region also witnessed a 6.9 percent rise in
July occupancy to 67.9 percent, ADR went up 1.7 percent to $100.93, and RevPAR
increased 8.8 percent to $68.53. Among the key markets in the region, Buenos
Aries, Argentina, reported the largest occupancy increase, jumping 87.3 percent
to 62.5 percent, followed by Santiago, Chile, with a 28.5-percent increase to
65.6 percent.
