Economic slowdown deals painful blow to Mideast hospitality industry

The Middle East's hospitality industry witnessed a decline in occupancy rates and revenue per available rooms (RevPARs) in key markets during the first four months of the year as the global economic slowdown impacted the inflow of tourists and business people into the region, an industry expert said.

"The Middle East to a large extent has been impacted by low levels of economic activity around the world. The region suffered a 9.6 per cent fall in occupancy rates and 14.9 per cent in RevPAR," Robert O'Hanlon, Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Partner at Deloitte Middle East, said.

He said in the Middle East, Dubai experienced a significant decline of 16 per cent in occupancy and RevPAR of 34.5 per cent during the first four months to April 2009 when compared to 2008, based on data provided by STR Global.