According to Ernst & Young Middle East hotel benchmark survey, Lebanon recorded the second largest year-on-year (y-o-y) improvement in its occupancy rate in H1, after Egypt. This goes hand in hand with the fact that tourist activity went up by 13% y-o-y by May of this year, possibly due to the relatively stable security situation in the country, compared to some neighboring nations in the region. Accordingly, Lebanon’s occupancy rate increased by 6 percentage points (p.p.) to 56% in the first 6 months of 2015, while Egypt’s occupancy rate edged up by 16 p.p. to 48%, registering the highest annual improvement. The latter development mainly is attributed to the better economic and political outlook in Egypt from last year, illustrated by the economic summit that took place in March. The third largest rise in occupancy rates, by June, was depicted in Doha and Kuwait, as they respectively increased by 1 p.p. each to 74% and 55%.
Over the same period, the largest downturn in the occupancy rate was in Amman, Jordan which lost 12 p.p yearly to 54% followed by Mekkah, Saudi Arabia which recorded a decrease of 11 p.p y-o-y to 52% by June. These falls might have been due of the enhanced political risk in both countries, following the participation in airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The third biggest loser was Manama, Bahrain which lost a yearly 3 p.p to 47%.
Notably, Dubai remained perched on its pedestal regarding the occupancy rate in the region, with an 83% rate.
Concerning Lebanon’s average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPar), they jumped by 4.6% and 17.1% to $176 and $99, respectively. In Cairo, the ADR surged 30.5% to $104, while its RevPar doubled to reach $51 by June 2015. Not surprisingly, Dubai’s ADR and RevPar were the utmost in the region at $272 and $226 respectively, despite losing 6.0% and 7.8% y-o-y, over the same period.
Looking at the month of June alone, Beirut declined 11 p.p to 57% from June 2014, with RevPAR losing 16.4% to $104 while the ADR remaining at last year’s level of $182. Worth mentioning, the relatively high level recorded in June 2014 was due to the Holy Month of Ramadan.
Lebanon’s Monthly Occupancy Rate
Source: EY Middle East Hotel Benchmark Survey