According to the preliminary data from STR, a market research and data aggregator, the occupancy levels and average daily rates (ADR) of the hotel industries in Abu Dhabi and Dubai during the key Islamic festival period of Eid-al-Fitr in 2022 have exceeded the comparable figures from the pre-pandemic period, notably the Eid al-Fitr in 2019.

The occupancy levels in the United Arab Emirates on the day of Eid itself this year, May 2, shows that Abu Dhabi’s hotel occupancy had reached 79.1 pc, which was 4.5 pc higher than in June 2019. Similar to this, Dubai’s occupancy came in at 75.4 pc, which was 19.7 pc higher compared to the pre-pandemic level.

Philip Wooller, STR’s senior director, Middle East & Africa believes that this high performance of the hotel industries is another sign of recovery and demand momentum for the Middle East.

 “While these key markets saw higher occupancy levels, they also posted room rates that were in some cases nearly double what was reported in 2019. Dubai, for example, saw rates over AED 700, which was up from AED 400 in 2019. Leisure-oriented areas in the UAE such as Ajman, Fujairah, and Ras Al-Khaimah also experienced tremendous growth, with Ras Al-Khaimah posting room rates above AED 1,000 on May 2,” Wooller adds.

STR also reveals that hotels in Ajman and Fujairah hotels surpassed 2019 occupancy levels, while Ras Al-Khaimah saw slightly lower occupancy levels than in 2019. Despite the decline, Ras Al-Khaimah surprisingly reported the highest ADR level among the aforementioned markets (AED1022.20) on May 2, which was 47.7 pc better than the pre-pandemic level.