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In Q1, the Saudi Arabian hotel market outperformed the rest of the GCC in terms of RevPAR development.

According to STR Global, major markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) posted mixed revenue per available room (RevPAR) results in the first quarter of 2012, after a largely positive year-end 2011. properties for sale in qatar

During the first quarter of 2012, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates all saw continued RevPAR changes. Despite increased demand in all but one region, continued supply growth in the other major GCC markets hampered RevPAR results.

"The majority of markets around the GCC have weathered the recent storms reasonably well," STR Global managing director Elizabeth Randall said. "Most markets in the area have seen increased demand, reflecting the region's stronger underlying foundations of stability and attractiveness to regional and foreign tourists. In the past, increasing room inventory has been a major factor affecting efficiency, and it will continue to be so as long as the area appeals to hotel owners and operators. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are fascinating case studies for demonstrating how hotel markets can balance demand and supply "..

Jeddah is the best performer in terms of RevPAR development in the first quarter, except Makkah and Medina, both in Saudi Arabia. The city benefited from increased demand (+17.3%) and a temporary reduction in available rooms due to the closure of the Westin Jeddah for renovations between October 2011 and summer 2012.

In Q1 2012, Al Khobar's RevPAR increased by 8.1% to SAR414.16 (+18.0%), owing to a rise in occupancy of 57.3 percent (+13.4%) over the previous year. Increased demand (+21.2 percent) drove occupancy growth, despite relatively low increases in new supply (+6.9%), which had previously increased by double digits. In other parts of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh's supply growth (+11.5 percent) outpaced demand (+3.1 percent) in Q1 2012. This resulted in a 7.5 percent drop in occupancy to 63.2 percent.

When it comes to supply growth over the last 15 months in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi represent two separate cycle phases. Both cities saw similar demand growth in the first quarter of 2012, with Dubai up 11.0 percent and Abu Dhabi up 9.7 percent. However, the effect of supply growth on RevPAR efficiency has been very different since 2011. Since December 2011, Abu Dhabi has experienced double-digit supply growth, with 16.7% in Q1 2012. The additional room inventory resulted in a 6.0 percent drop in occupancy to 64.1 percent. In the first quarter of this year, Abu Dhabi's average daily rate (ADR) was AED633.85, down 11.7 percent from the previous year. In Dubai, new supply increased at a slower pace of 2.6 percent in Q1, resulting in an 8.2% rise in occupancy to 86.6 percent. During the same time span, ADR increased by 8.7% to AED964.86, resulting in a 17.6% rise in RevPAR.

Other GCC markets are seeing a drop in RevPAR.
In Q1 2012, occupancy in Doha, Qatar, fell by 10.5 percent to 63.6 percent, owing to double-digit supply growth (+17.4%), which outpaced demand growth of 5.1 percent. ADR fell to QAR827.8 (-4.5%) in Q1 compared to the previous year due to the competitive market.

Following the unrest in February 2011, RevPAR production in Manama, Bahrain, continued to decline in Q1 2012, falling to BHD35.87 (-9.0%) from the previous year. Although occupancy increased by 112.1 percent in March 2012, it was from a low of 21.2 percent in March 2011. For the first quarter of this year, demand for the destination increased by 1.1 percent.

In the first quarter of 2012, Kuwait's occupancy rate was 57.3 percent (-6.6 percent) lower than the previous year. ADR fell 1.9 percent to KWD63.00 during the same time. Kuwait was the only sector to record a drop in demand in the first quarter (-5.0 percent).

Although the average daily rate (ADR) in Muscat, Oman fell by 7.3 percent to OMR94.98 in the first quarter of 2012, the city's hotels saw occupancy rise to 67.3 percent (+3.5 percent) due to increased demand (+8.0 percent). The rise in demand in Muscat outweighed the 4.3 percent increase in production.

STR Global monitors over 93,200 rooms in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) area, including Makkah and Medina.

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