Hotels in Saudi Arabia suffered during the first quarter of 2017 with occupancy, rates and revenues all showing double-digit decreases, according to new figures.
Data released by hospitality analysts STR revealed that hotel occupancy across the Gulf kingdom averaged 58.3 percent in Q1, down 10.4 percent on the year-earlier period.
STR also said that average daily rates (ADR) in Saudi Arabia slumped by 12 percent to SR578.09 while revenue per available room (RevPAR) plummeted by 21.2 percent to SR337.29.
Analysts added that performance was down across all submarkets, with Al Khobar/Dammam and Jeddah reporting the most significant RevPAR declines of 38.6 percent and 33.3 percent, respectively.
Demand fell 6.4 percent in the country, while supply grew 4.6 percent, the figures also showed.
According to research by Colliers International, Saudi Arabia is set to invest US$2 billion in cultural tourism, with a series of projects and targets laid out for Saudi Vision 2030.
Regionally, hotels in the Middle East reported that occupancy fell by 1.4 percent to 70.5 percent in Q1 compared to Q1 2016 while ADR dropped by 6.8 percent and RevPAR decreased by 8.2 percent.
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