ABU DHABI has received just short of two million hotel guests in the first nine months of this year after a stellar September which saw year-on-year increases across a number of key performance indicators.
Figures just released by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) show that the destination received 226,002 hotel guests – a 19 per cent rise on September last year, with guest nights achieved rising 26 per cent to 714,577.
“Although obviously pleased with the increase in guest numbers, particularly given we now have 13 per cent more rooms available than this time last year, we are also greatly encouraged by an increasing trend towards longer stays by individuals with the average-length-of-stay now reaching 3.16 nights – which is a six per cent rise on September last year,” said Mubarak Al Muhairi, director general, TCA Abu Dhabi.
“We have focused strongly this year on convincing visitors that there is now much more to see and do in Abu Dhabi emirate – as evidenced by a slew of resort and attractions openings this year and we will continue to build on this proposition as we target an average-length-of-stay of over the four night mark.”
Average room rate in Abu Dhabi in the first nine months of this year has fallen two per cent on last year and now comes in at Dh419 ($114).
The September guest intake means that in the first nine months of this year, Abu Dhabi, which now has 148 hotels and hotel apartments offering 25,671 rooms throughout the emirate, received 1,981,732 guests – a 14 per cent increase on 2012. Guest nights achieved from January to September end was up 25 per cent year-on-year. Average-length-of-stay for the first nine months has risen 10 per cent to 3.13 nights while occupancy rose eight per cent to 68 per cent.
Hotel revenues in the first nine months jumped by 18 per cent to Dh3.7 billion ($1 billion) while revenue per available room (RevPAr) moved up six per cent to Dh285 ($114).
Guest arrivals from within the UAE inched up three per cent in the first nine months delivering a 27 per cent increase in guest nights and a 23 per cent increase in length-of-stay to 2.3 nights.
India is now the destination’s largest overseas source market for hotel guests with 121,763 Indians checking into the emirate’s hotels in the first nine months – a year-on-year uplift of 24 per cent. The UK came second with 109,330 Britons checking into Abu Dhabi hotels in the first nine months of this year – a 10 per cent rise on 2012. The British guests accounted for 518,571 guest nights – an increase of 21 per cent year-on-year. Germany ranked third. The 83,694 Germans who stayed in Abu Dhabi’s accommodation from January to September end this year represented a rise of 25 per cent year-to-date.
The GCC is performing well for Abu Dhabi with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait all ranking among the emirate’s top 20 international source markets.
“A rising trend is also South Korea which has now made it to our top 25 market listing recording a 27 per cent increase in arrivals year-on-year, a 44 per cent increase in guest nights and with a 13 percent rise in the average-length-of-stay,” explained Al Muhairi.