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Hotel occupancy rates in Dubai surged to a 15-year high in March, driven by high demand during the final weeks of Expo 2020, according to preliminary data from hospitality consultancy STR.
Occupancy levels averaged 91.7 percent during the month, the highest monthly rate since 2007, while the average daily rate (ADR) for hotel rooms stood at 891.46 dirhams ($242.7), the second highest during the pandemic.
Hotels in the emirate also recorded an average revenue per available room (RevPAR) of 817.9 dirhams, the highest since December 2015.
“Like past renditions of Expo in Shanghai (2010) and Milan (2015), the end of the ‘mega event’ proved to be the busiest for Dubai,” STR said.
The last time monthly occupancy rates in Dubai averaged 90 percent was in March 2007, when there were around 90,000 less rooms in the market. Occupancy levels peaked at 96 percent on March 24, just a few days before the closing date for Expo 2020.
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria )
