Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi hotel market continued to witness high performance as occupancy levels rose by 7.5 percentage points to 71.3 per cent, according to the latest HotStats survey of full service four and five star hotels TRI Hospitality Consulting.

The growing performance drove Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) growth by 11.7 per cent to $81.74

Meanwhile, average room rates in the emirate remained stable in August 2014 compared to the same period last year. Strong growth in food and beverage, and conferencing revenues also helped raise the revenue potential of the market as total RevPAR for the month increased by 10.7 per cent to $179.01.

The decline in a number of operating expenses enabled hotels to record a strong rise in profitability as gross operating profit PAR more than doubled to $24.05, and marked a return to positive levels following the previous month.

“The culmination of Ramadan and Eid holidays falling in the beginning of August allowed hotels in Abu Dhabi to attract a strong number of regional travelers to the city’s entertainment and shopping attractions,” said Peter Goddard, managing director of TRI Hospitality Consulting.

He added, “Furthermore, a proactive approach by the [Tourism and Culture Authority] to promote the destination in emerging markets, particularly China, as resulted in a 189 per cent increase in room nights from Chinese visitors for the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013.”

The survey, which covered Jeddah, Kuwait, Cairo, and Doha, showed that the Jeddah hotel market remained one of the strongest in the region, recording the highest gross operating profit PAR levels amongst the five markets surveyed.

The market experienced a surge in demand as occupancy grew by 6.8 per centage points to 77 per cent, facilitating an 18.9 per cent growth in RevPAR to $228.42.

However, hotels in Kuwait experienced weakening market conditions in Augustm as occupancy declined by 1.5 percentage points to 35.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, hotels in Doha were able to record a 24.6 per cent growth in RevPAR to reach $129, driven by a 13.3 percentage point rise in occupancy to 59.9 per cent.

Outside the GCC, hotels in Cairo benefitted from a surge in hotel demand as occupancy levels increased by over 41 percentage points to 62 per cent in August.