Abu Dhabi maintains visitor number momentum

Hotels and hotel apartments throughout Abu Dhabi have continued their hotel guest and guest nights momentum, after receiving 12 per cent more guests in May when compared to the same month last year. Some 192,374 guests stayed in the emirate’s accommodation in May, accounting for 542,567 guest nights – a rise of seven per cent on May 2011. Total hotel revenue climbed three per cent on May 2011 to stand at AED360 million (US$98 million). Food and beverage accounted for AED151.3 million (US 41.2 million) – a month-on-month rise of 14 per cent - while room revenue over the same period decreased four per cent to AED167.32million (US$45.5 million). Reflecting increased room supply throughout the emirate – the number of rooms available has risen 13 per cent since May 2011 - hotel occupancy in May reached 63 per cent, an eight per cent slip on the comparative month last year. The average length of stay decreased four per cent on May 2011 to come in at 2.82 days. “Average length of stay is a key performance indicator we are now actively addressing through our intensive summer in Abu Dhabi campaign. “By offering a range of discounted activities and family-orientated entertainment programmes, we are providing more incentives to guests to visit the emirate and stay for longer,” explained HE Mubarak Al Muhairi, director general, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, which has released the monthly figures. “We are closely monitoring this programme’s performance to identify areas of key appeal and improvement so that we can continue - with widespread stakeholder support - to build on the destination’s overall value-for-money proposition.”