Supply is also increasing with Dubai being the largest hospitality contributor across the Emirates
The UAE hospitality market saw growth in occupancy in the first quarter of the year of 24 per cent, according to data from commercial real estate experts Colliers.
Colliers’ executive director – Head of Hotels for the MENA region, Christopher Lund, said: “All markets in UAE saw an increase in performance levels in comparison to 2021, with Dubai and Sharjah observing the highest growth in occupancies. This can be attributed to increased demand during the winter holidays and last three months of Expo 2020.”
The six-month long Expo attracted more than 24 million visitors to its Dubai location.
Sharjah experienced a 114 percent increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) in comparison to the same period last year. Dubai led the way for new supply with 2,054 new rooms coming onstream in the first quarter of 2022.
Among them was a 70-suite resort property that opened in Dubai’s World Islands under Minor Hotels, Anantara brand, Anantara World Islands.
Supply in the market is expected to increase 6 per cent between 2022 and 2024, with 13,900 new rooms. New tourist attractions expected to open this year are the Kalba Heritage Museum in Sharjah and the transformation of the Expo 2020 site into District 2020, a futuristic city.
Looking across the Middle East, demand in Kuwait City, Manama, Muscat, Doha and Amman has “recovered extensively” in Q1 2022. Doha experienced the most significant uplift in hospitality performance, partially due the increase in exposure generated by the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament.
SOURCE: arabianbusiness.com