According to Ernst & Young Middle East hotel benchmark survey, the occupancy rate in Beirut’s 4- and 5-star hotels reached 36.9% percentage points (pp) by March 2023, down from last year’s percentage of 43.6%. It is unfortunate that Lebanon has the lowest hotel occupancy rate among all Arab countries, despite his favorable Mediterranean weather, cheaper tourism, as well as attractive winter season. In fact, we assume that Lebanon is most likely welcoming expats rather than tourists in the high season of holidays and summer due to high country risk, though this might change this summer if a political settlement is reached.
In more details, the average room rate in dollars currency in Lebanon has decreased significantly by 28.7% to stand at $43 while the RevPAR dropped by 39.7% to reach $16 for the month of March 2023. Moreover, the average room rate in Lebanese pound has increased significantly by 221% due to the sharp deterioration of the national currency despite the drop in room rate in dollars prices. In details, the average room rate in LBP reached LBP 4,578,200 in March 2023 while RevPAR (Revenue per available room) jumped by 171.5% from LBP 622,144 in March 2022 to LBP 1,689,365 in March 2023.
On a regional level, hospitality markets in Makkah and Muscat witnessed an increase across all performance indicators in March 2023 compared to March 2022. In more details, the occupancy rates in Makkah added 26.5% to reach 83.9% while Muscat occupancy rates added 15.2% to reach 67.3%. Makkah’s hospitality sector observed a remarkable RevPAR growth of 184.5% from $57 in March 2022 to $162 in March 2023. Meanwhile, average room rate in Makkah jumped by 94.5% from $99 in March 2022 to $193 by March 2023. As for Muscat, the average room rate added 7.9% from $132 in March 2022 to $142 in March 2023 which resulted in a notable RevPAR growth of 39.2% from $69 to $96 during the same period. In fact, in March 2023, Oman announced visa-free entry for over 100 countries, in order to encourage more tourists to visit the country. Additionally, the country is known for its natural beauty, rich history, and unique culture
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