Egyptian markets such as Cairo, Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh, and Alexandria continue to experience strong performance in the Mena Hotel Forecast’s publication.
These markets showed an average revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth of 14% during the first 10 months (10M) of 2019, compared to the same period last year. The occupancy recorded 80%, 60%, 67%, 82%, in Cairo, Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, and Alexandria respectively.
The forecast reported that the Egyptian markets will continue to be strong in RevPAR and Occupancy. The major Egyptian markets are forecasted to see an average RevPAR growth of 22% in 2019 compared to last year.
Beirut hotel markets will continue to see strong growth in performance with double digit growth in RevPAR in the first 10M of 2019, recording 13%. This growth in performance levels can be attributed by the growing number of European tourists underpinned by French tourists in the top of the list, followed by the Germans and the British. While average RevPAR in Dubai witnessed a decline by 9.5%.
They noted that the lifting of travel warnings from Saudi Arabia is also expected to have a positive impact as the market is forecasted to see a RevPAR growth of 13% in full year 2019.
Saudi Arabia markets will continue to benefit from tourist via visa changes and other initiatives. Although new supply might put a downward pressure on rates, the recent initiatives are also expected to have a positive impact on occupancy levels.
For the Manama hotel market in Bahrain, it has seen a positive performance trend, achieving a RevPAR growth of 8%. This performance can be attributed by the increase in the numbers of visitors by approximately 3%. The continuous investments in tourism infrastructure is expected to increase the country’s visibility on the global map. This market is expected to see a RevPAR growth of 7% in full year 2019.
UAE markets are expected to achieve relatively stable performance in 2020, with the three months of EXPO 2020 falling in the fourth quarter.
