The 2012 Middle East Hotel Survey highlights regional macroeconomics, visitation characteristics, performance indicators and major developments, reinforcing the resilience of the region, poised for recovery and development despite the Arab Spring.



Highlights:

• The Middle East Hotel Survey 2012 includes 374 hotels and roughly 104,000 hotel rooms across 45 cities in the Middle East, reinforcing and building upon its reliability and reputation as a key benchmarking index in the region;
• While 2010 provided an element of economic optimism, the global economies weakened in 2011, slowing international tourism and sparking renewed caution towards investment. However, future hotel development and performance remains stable, with the region poised for aggressive development;
• The Middle East suffered from continued unrest in sensitive destinations, with cities such as Doha and Dubai benefitting from the redirected demand.  Despite turmoil, the region remains a key market for development owing to its oil wealth, high disposable income, demographic growth and proven resilience to crises;
• Dubai’s airport continues to contend with major international airports, achieving yet another milestone with 50.9 million passenger movements in 2011. It is expected to rank among the top-three busiest international airports by 2015;
• A shifting trend to midscale and budget travel provides the incentive for internationally recognised midscale operators to position themselves in underdeveloped markets in the Middle East, including cities such as Doha and Riyadh;
• Properties throughout the Gulf region will need to renovate their existing facilities in order to maintain competitiveness and keep pace with the new supply expected to come online;
• In 2012, the total direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in the GCC countries is expected to increase by 27% over 2009, to US$44 billion;
• Winning the bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has provided a new impetus for Doha, placing Qatar on the fast-track for hospitality development;
• Saudi Arabia plans to invest US$80 billion in tourism related facilities, including hotels and airports;
• Qatar is following suit to a host of other Middle East destinations by positioning itself strategically in the global sporting arena. Abu Dhabi is hosting the Formula 1 Grand Prix and the HSBC Golf Championships, Dubai is hosting the Duty Free Tennis Championships and the Dubai World Championship and, despite recent instability, Bahrain remains a primary destination among racing enthusiasts;
• Of the 45 cities included in the survey, 14 achieved higher occupancies in 2011 compared to 2010. While several cities experienced a significant decline in accommodated room nights, a select number of cities with decreasing hotel occupancies in fact registered an increase in accommodated room nights. A total of 15 cities recorded positive average rate growth;
• Cities throughout the GCC countries are investing a combined US$104 billion in airport expansions as passenger capacities from Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways are set to quadruple by 2020;
• The development pipeline in the 2012 Middle East Hotel Survey accounts for roughly 84,000 new hotel rooms to be brought on line in the next four to five years. Hilton Hotels & Resorts dominates the development pipeline with more than 15,800 rooms planned for the next four years, while Marriott International and Rotana Hotel Management Corporation follow with approximately 12,000 rooms and 9,300 rooms, respectively. Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Accor, and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), average more than 6,000 rooms each;
• The total development pipeline for the Middle East/Africa region comprises 495 hotels, totalling 131,981 rooms. The UAE will introduce the greatest number of rooms in the region, with 24,500 rooms due for completion within the next 3 to 5 years, while Qatar constitutes the highest expected growth year on year with 7,340 rooms. Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait are all expected to grow more than 40%;
• The UAE will introduce the greatest number of rooms in the region, with approximately 24,500 rooms due for completion within the next three to five years, while Qatar is expected to se the highest year-on-year growth with 5,635 rooms. The hotel markets in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Kuwait are all expected to grow by more than 40%.