Abu Dhabi The number of guests who stayed in the emirate's 130 hotels and hotel apartments in the first quarter of this year increased by 17 per cent compared with the same period last year, the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority reported Monday.

Guest nights rose ten per cent year-on-year to stand at 1.725 million.

However, the average length of stay slipped five per cent to 2.9 and occupancy rates dipped six per cent from the comparative period which in the statement the authority said is a result of supply and demand dynamics.

"We have more accommodation product in the market — which has increased choice and competitiveness to the traveller — an advantage we are now determined to leverage," said Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.

"The pie is more thinly sliced now," said Guy Wilkinson, managing partner at Viability, a hospitality consulting firm, adding that it will take some time before there's a balance between the new supply and the demand.

‘Good sign'

"There's not much that the hotels can do, but continue to be competitive in their pricing. They can offer special extras in the price like breakfast, airport pick-ups, spa treatments and upgrades," he said.

"The summer season, whether it's a good year or a bad year, it's always more difficult. The rates go down in the summer, but it's a good sign that guest night demand is up."

Overall hotel revenues rose one per cent to Dh1.2 billion, with the first quarter's average room rate coming in at Dh500, the authority said.

Guest arrival growth was achieved across all key regional markets with the exception of North America. Domestic tourism produced 212,597 guests and 401,347 guest nights — rises of 11 per cent and eight per cent on the comparative period last year, the tourism authority reported. The GCC also delivered 57 per cent more hotel guests than the first quarter last year.

"The GCC is increasingly productive for us and we can look forward to further growth from this sector as Etihad, our national airline, recently increased its frequency from Kuwait to Abu Dhabi by four flights a week and added an additional three weekly flights from Dammam in Saudi Arabia to the UAE capital," Al Muhairi said.

"Our on-the-ground presence in Saudi Arabia, which will shortly be formalised into a full-fledged office, is producing greater destination awareness and trade relationships and we will be reaching out to the Saudi consumer at next month's Riyadh Travel Fair," he said.

Saudi Arabia is the emirate's fourth most productive overseas source market for hotel guests with some 22,107 Saudis staying in Abu Dhabi in the first quarter of the year — a 69 per cent rise over last year, the authority said.

Kuwait, Oman and Qatar also produced double-digit hotel guest and guest night growth for Abu Dhabi during the first quarter.

"Our GCC neighbours, with the exception of Bahrain, now rank among Abu Dhabi's top 25 longest-staying guests," he said.

Hotel guest growth from Asia was up 37 per cent, driven largely by increased attraction from China. Some 8,941 Chinese nationals stayed in the emirate's hotels in the first quarter — a jump of 86 per cent on the equivalent period last year. Hotel guests from Europe climbed 17 per cent with much of the growth primarily influenced by Germany, which grew 46 per cent in terms of hotel guests and 40 per cent in guest nights.

Non-stop services

Much of these increases is attributed to the introduction of Etihad's five-times-weekly flight from Shanghai, Etihad's Duesseldorf-Abu Dhabi route, and Air Berlin flying three times-daily, non-stop services to Abu Dhabi, including direct flights from Berlin and Duesseldorf. However, the UK remains Abu Dhabi's top hotel guest source market, although numbers slipped two per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with 2011.