An industry survey carried out by the hospitality research company STR Global showed that hotel revenues in Dubai dropped over 40% in May compared to the same period last year. Hotel occupancy in Dubai dropped 14.5% to 66.5%. The survey results underscore the impact of the economic crisis as travelers across the globe are cutting expenses and tightening their belts.
The industry benchmark revenue per available room (RevPar) was $141 compared to $236 last year. Beirut, however, had the biggest gains in RevPar growth at about 162% due to hopes of returning political stability. Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Istanbul, and Amman are the top five markets in the Middle East, based on occupancy. Dubai has been more affected by the financial downturn because their beaches and luxury hotels have attracted many Russian and European tourists. The spending power of these countries has been severely impacted by the global economic recession.