Abu Dhabi’s hosting of the Formula One championship showdown race last month helped raise the fortunes of hoteliers in the emirate, according to data from industry analysts STR.
Despite a year-on-year decrease, the absolute level of average daily rates would be the highest in Abu Dhabi since last November, boosted by visitors coming to see Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg go head-to-head for the world title, STR said.
It said market performance for the month was helped by the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with four straight days of ADR above AED1,000 and year-over-year increases of 101.5 percent and 143.7 percent, respectively, on November 24-25.
Its preliminary November data for Abu Dhabi also showed an increase in supply (up 2.7 percent) and nearly flat demand (-0.4 percent).
STR also forecast a 3.1 percent decrease in occupancy to 81 percent, an 11.1 percent decrease in ADR to AED660.14 and a 13.8 percent drop in revenue per available room (RevPAR) to AED534.97.
STR analysts also noted that supply growth slowed a bit compared with the 3.6 percent average in the market during the first 10 months of 2016.
Hamilton won last month’s F1 finale but that was not enough to deny his team-mate his first world title.
