Dubai Hotels See Highest Occupancy Rate Since 2007

Dubai hotel occupancy rate hit a new high last month. According to the latest data published by STR Global, in April the city’s hotels registered the highest occupancy in seven years. In addition to that, the Dubai hotels also witnessed a six-year high in their average daily rates (ADR).

In its preliminary hotel report for Dubai, STR Global shares that the city’s hotel market saw a “positive growth” in April. Moreover, the city’s hospitality industry peaked across all main factors. As a start, the revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased by nearly 14%, reaching almost AED 904. The average daily rates, on the other hand, jumped by 11.4% and hit AED 1,065.92. Namely, the ADR contributed to the impressively high RevPAR in April.

According to the data, the occupancy rate in Dubai hotels increased because of the growing demand, which is estimated at 10.5%. The research explains that it saw its very first double-digit rise in eight months reaching an average of almost 85%.

Just a few days ago, Dubai’s unveiled its new ambition – Tourism Vision for 2020. The city latest goal is to become the world’s most visited. The tourism authority in Dubai has set itself the target number of 20 million tourists per year by the start of Expo 2020.

Estimated show that Dubai can soon become more visited than one of tourists’ favourites – London. In order that to happen, however, the city’s tourism and hospitality sectors need to at least achieve last year’s rates. In 2013, Dubai hotels welcomed 11 million guests from all over the world. That is 1 million more tourists compared to 2012, when visitors were less than 10 million. Still, the increase is calculated at 10.6% year-on-year.

Therefore, all Dubai needs to do to climb up the list of the world’s most visited cities this year is to at least maintain this growth rate. Judging from these figures, that might be easier than expected.