Special Report: Hotel Investment & Tourism - Budget brands expand
The Middle East’s hotel industry has enjoyed startling growth over the past few years. According to global business advisory firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, hotels have recorded a five-year run of double-digit growth in revenue per available room - a key indicator of profit.
The region had 52.9 million visitors in 2008, recording the highest occupancy and average room rates in the world, with growth of 18.3 per cent in revenue per available room, placing it ahead of Europe for the first time.
Business travel, in particular, has been a key driver of the region’s hotel boom. Over the past five years, Dubai has emerged as the most popular destination in the Middle East for meetings, conferences and exhibitions. On average, more than 100 major international exhibitions are held in the emirate each year.
As a result, business travel now forms a major part of the region’s economic diversification drive. GCC countries are competing with each other to build state-of-the-art convention centres, upgrade their transport infrastructure and ease visa restrictions.
While the market for conferences and exhibitions is inevitably experiencing a slowdown as a result of the recession in many countries around the world, the plans being put in place across the Gulf should ensure the region is able to fully capitalise once the global economy recovers.
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