Abu Dhabi’s hotel guest numbers reach 1.2 million in Q2 2019
The latest report from the Department of Culture andTourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) also shows that total hotel revenues forthe 2nd Quarter were up to AED 1.2 billion, a rise of 3.7% from the previousyear.
Year-to-Date, YTD, metrics for 2019 also show strongimprovement, with hotel guest numbers reaching 2.5 million, a rise of 3.5percent from 2018, and hotel revenues of AED2.9 billion, a 10.6 percent rise.For 2019 so far, the statistics also show double-digit growth in other keyindicators, including an increase in Room Revenues of 17.6 percent; Revenue PerAvailable Room rising by 10.7 percent, and Average Room Rate rising by 10.2percent.
The figures also show that the emirate’s keyattractions have had a successful year, attracting the highest number ofsightseers and thrill-seekers than ever before. Visits to key attractions wereup 50 percent, primarily due to a 62 percent increase in visitors to theme andleisure parks, in addition to a 21.5 percent growth at cultural and historicalsites, and a 22 percent increase at museums.
«These impressive results, both in the secondquarter and the year as a whole, are a result of the hard work and dedicationof every stakeholder, entity and trade partner involved in Abu Dhabi’s tourismvalue chain, with DCT Abu Dhabi underpinning this drive for excellence with itsimplementation of a structured and diversified calendar of world-classevents,» said Saif Saeed Ghobash, Under-Secretary of DCT Abu Dhabi.
«These results for the year have been underpinnedby some truly exceptional results in June. For example, our guest numbers inJune were up 24.6 percent compared to the same month last year, while ourRevenue Per Available Room was also up 23.8 percent.
In the 2nd Quarter of 2019, there was an impressiveincrease in hotel guests from several key international markets, with guestnumbers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia up 23.6%, India rising by 15.8%, andother key markets such as the UK and USA also showing positive growth.
Underpinning the increases was the strong growth invarious regions of Abu Dhabi, with the statistics showing hotels in Al DhafraRegion performing particularly well in Q2 2019, seeing a 10.3 percent increasein guest numbers, an 18.7 percent increase in Revenue Per Available Room, and a12.3 percent increase in Average Room Rate.
Additionally, guest numbers in Al Ain were up 9.9percent, and 6.4 percent in Abu Dhabi.
Of the various districts of Abu Dhabi, hotels in theAbu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, ADNEC, area were among the bestperformers, recording 73 percent occupancy, a rise of 11.9 percent from last2018, while guest numbers were up 10.2 percent. These were boosted by anincrease in the number of key international visitors, such as a 31 percentincrease from China, a 29.8 percent increase from India, and a 20.1 percentincrease from Saudi Arabia.
In ADNEC’s hotels in the YTD, Occupancy reached 81percent, up 11.3 percent, guest numbers rose 15.9 percent, and Revenues were upeven further by 26 percent.
Saadiyat Island’s hotels have also performedexceptionally well this year. Here, guest numbers rose an astounding 83.5percent, Occupancy Rates were up 26.1 percent, Revenues by 73.4 percent, andRevenue Per Available Room by 30.9 percent.
In the YTD, guest numbers were up by 105 percent andRevenues by 71.3 percent. During this time, visitors from Russia were up 242.8percent, the UK by 144.5 percent, and Kazakhstan an astounding 1,595 percent.