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Room rates at hotels across Dubai increased during the holy month of Ramadan, reaching their highest level in three months, according to initial data from research firm STR.
Throughout April 2021, the average daily rate (ADR) in Dubai stood at 576.33 dirhams ($156.91), while the revenue per available room (RevPAR) reached 343.94 dirhms, the highest since the beginning of the year.
“Absolute ADR and RevPAR were the highest in Dubai since January,” STR said in its April 2021 preliminary report. STR did not say what’s behind the price increase, although daily occupancy throughout the April Ramadan period remained in the 50 percent range.
During the month, occupancy rates averaged at 59.7 percent, slightly lower than March but a significant improvement from pandemic lows.
Ramadan kicked off early last month and ended with the observance of Eid Al Fitr on Thursday, May 13. It’s not immediately clear how the hotels fared during Eid, also considered a lucrative period for hotels.
“Eid Al Fitr may look somewhat different this year, but as Middle Eastern nations continue to roll out vaccines to residents, and domestic travel and travel corridors slowly resume, the holiday may be a bright spot for some market,” STR said in its latest blog.
In normal times, STR said, leisure markets like Dubai, as well as Sharjah and Jeddah, report high occupancies on the holiday, while business-based capital markets like Riyadh, Kuwait City and Doha host fewer travellers in comparison.
International visitor traffic in Dubai and around the world plummeted following the implementation of COVID-19 restrictions and decline in traveller confidence.
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
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© ZAWYA 2021
