Dubai int’l hotel guests up by 9.7% in 2019 but RevPAR drops 12% – central bank

9.7% more international guests checked into Dubai’s hotels to reach 9.44 million in 2019 but discounts forced down revenue per available room, according to the central bank of the UAE in its annual report released on Monday (May 4).

“Consequently, the revenue per available room significantly decreased by 12% compared to the previous year,” said the central bank basing its calculations on data from the Dubai Department of Culture and Tourism.

Dubai supplied 8.8% more available rooms in 2019, which were met with a 6.6% increase in occupied room nights.

The city had 100,744 hotel rooms at the end of 2019 from 93,304 in the first quarter, according to data from the Dubai Statistics Center.  

The emirate welcomed around 5% more international tourists in 2019 to 16.73 million.

Neighbouring emirate Abu Dhabi saw 5.14 million international hotel guests in 2019, a 2.1% increase. This growth was slower than the 3.7% it registered in 2018.

But unlike in Dubai, Abu Dhabi hotels enjoyed a 6.6% growth in revenues compared to a contraction of 2.8% in 2018.

“Combined with higher average daily rate during the reference period, total revenues of hotels in Abu Dhabi significantly increased, as compared to the previous year,” said the central bank.

The two emirates are the UAE's biggest tourist destinations. The country's economic outlook for 2020, including for tourism, remains 'uncertain', according to the central bank, due to the COVID-19 crisis. 

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