Best first half year for hotels

Hotel performance for the first half of the year have been recorded as Abu Dhabi's "best-ever," according to a statement released by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority on Wednesday. Year-to-date, hotel guests were up 11 per cent to just over one million. Guest nights were up 26 per cent to over three million; occupancy rose from 10 to 70 per cent, and revenu climbned six per cent to Dh2.26 billion, according to the ADTA's data. "Results have been assisted by the destination's heightened competitiveness with average room rates falling by 15 per cent in the first half compared to last year making Abu Dhabi a more affordable up-scale option than Sydney, Paris, New York or Tokyo," said Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of ADTA in the released statement. Ten new luxury five-star resorts are scheduled to come online in the capital by the end of the year which is expected to heighten competition in the hotel industry. However, the ADTA said that the new hotel properties will "add to the destination's appeal and expand its overall market reach." Article continues below Abu Dhabi's target by the end of this year is two million guests.