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Based upon average hotel rates aggregated from dozens of top travel websites throughout June, July and August, the majority of MENA destinations experienced a spike in price this past summer when compared with the 2011 summer season.
Namely, Dubai experienced one of the highest hotel rate increases in the world with an impressive 57% rise from an average nightly fee of AED 601.17 in 2011 to AED 941.10 in 2012. The impressive price increase could potentially be linked to Dubai’s recent tourism campaign in overseas markets aimed at generating awareness on the city’s numerous leisure activities and high-end resorts.
Dubai’s upsurge was followed by Islamic pilgrimage hot spot Medina with an increase of 44% and Sousse with an increase of 43%. Dubai’s fellow Gulf city of Abu Dhabi experienced a more humble rate increase of 12%.
The only major exceptions for the price boom within the MENA hotel industry were Doha and Alexandria which dipped by 5% and 7% respectively.
“Overall, the upturn data coming out of the Middle East and North Africa was quite impressive,” says Hichame Assi, HotelsCombined’s Head of International Strategy. “Every summer, the MENA tourism sector appears to experience significant growth. This is especially apparent in the Middle East, where Islamic pilgrimage has summer tourism increasing steadily. The return of consumer confidence in countries like Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia, following the cultural and political upheaval in the region, is also encouraging.”
Interesting trends emerged internationally as well, with the U.S. experiencing an average hotel rate surge of 17%. Anaheim – home to Disneyland - snagged the highest price increase in America with a 42% rise in the average nightly hotel rate of $109 USD in 2011 to $155.25 USD in 2012.
South East Asia was similarly a success story, with most Indonesian, Thai, Malaysian and Philippine destinations experiencing a healthy hotel rate increase at an average of 14%. The only South East Asian country where hotel rates seemed to drop was Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh decreasing at 3% and Hanoi at 5%.
However, the hotel industry wasn’t quite so lucrative in several key Western European destinations. The German cities of Dusseldorf (-19%), Leipzig (-16%) and Binz (-16%) all experienced declines while Athens hotel rates went down a significant 18% during the 2012 summer likely as an after-effect of the tensions the city faced due to the current European financial crisis.
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