Cairo is Mena’s top performer in hotel market

Cairo emerged in November as the top hotel market to record higher occupancy, daily rates and revenue per available room among Mena cities tracked by advisory firm EY, as government incentives to charter airlines paid off.

Hotel occupancy in Egypt’s capital city jumped 14.6 per cent to 77.9 per cent in November from the same period a year earlier, while average daily rates (ADR) rose 15.6 per cent and revenue per available room (RevPar) surged 42.1 per cent, according to EY’s hotel survey.

“The significant increase in occupancy levels may be attributed to the government’s efforts in November to revive the tourism industry by increasing incentives for charter airlines carrying a certain number of passengers on international flights,” said Yousef Wahbah, Mena real estate, hospitality and construction sector leader at EY.

Egypt’s tourism industry, an important foreign currency earner, has been recovering since the 2011 uprising and the suspected downing of a Russian plane in Sinai in 2015, which killed all tourists on board.

Overall, the region’s hotel industry had mixed results. In the Arabian Gulf, all markets except Kuwait and Oman experienced lacklustre performances.

All three indicators fell in Dubai, where tourist arrivals rose, but hotel room supplies are increasing.

Dubai occupancy in November in Dubai fell 1.3 per cent to 88.2 per cent, ADR dropped 1.4 per cent and RevPar declined 2.8 per cent.

In Abu Dhabi, occupancy surged 6 per cent to 88.6 per cent because of the opening of the Louvre and the hosting of the Forumla One race. ADR decreased 4.1 per cent, but Revpar grew 2.9 per cent.