The largest association of independent hotel chains in the world, Global Hotel Alliance, revealed that room revenue increased by 68% in the first nine months of this year compared to the same time in 2021, reaching 84% of pre-pandemic levels.
As the travel sector continues to recover from the effects of the coronavirus epidemic, GHA, a company located in the UAE, said that the total income generated by the 22 million members of its GHA Discovery loyalty programme reached more than $900 million.
The rise in performance was attributed, according to the alliance, to “higher average rates and a 20% increase in average length of stay globally from January to September against the same period in 2021, driven by pent-up demand for leisure travel being unleashed.”
The top three nations responsible for growth from January to September were discovered to be Thailand, the Maldives, and the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai, Singapore, and Bangkok were the most frequented cities for GHA Discovery members, with a combined growth of 48% over 2021.
According to GHA chief executive Chris Hartley, “our 2022 performance to date has exceeded all expectations, demonstrating not only travel’s enduring allure as it recovers from the pandemic but also the success of our growth strategy, underpinned by the reinvention of GHA Discovery and the addition of new hotel brand partners to our alliance.”
According to government statistics, Dubai received about 8.1 million foreign tourists in the first seven months of the year, more than tripling its figure for the entire year 2021. The emirate welcomed 7.28 million tourists in 2021, demonstrating how its tourism industry has rebounded from the pandemic.
In the meantime, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Dubai’s ruler and prime minister, predicted last month that the UAE will experience a “strong tourism revival” this winter.
According to government figures, the tourist industry generated more than Dh19 billion ($5.17 billion) in income during the first half of this year, and 12 million people stayed at hotels during that time, a rise of 42%.
During the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar, which will start in November, The Emirates is likewise preparing for a surge in visitors. Many hotels anticipate near full occupancy during November and December as a result of the athletic event, which is anticipated to bring a significant boom to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Despite the persistent problems with air travel and the impact of pandemic-related restrictions, more than 60% of GHA Discovery’s revenue came from foreign stays, and this percentage increased significantly over the summer, according to GHA.
More than 25% of total revenues were spent by visitors from the US ($76 million), the UK ($71 million), and Germany ($60 million).
With the help of travel to destinations in Europe and Asia, August turned out to be the alliance’s second-best performing month, bringing in revenues that fell just short of March 2019’s record performance, it added.
Total GHA Discovery member stays increased 74% year over year in the third quarter, with Spain, the US, Germany, Italy, and Thailand being the top international summer vacation destinations.
In the meantime, areas like Phuket and Bangkok in Thailand showed the most over the course of the nine-month period that post-pandemic travel was on the upswing, with respective revenue growth rates of 535 and 345 percent when compared to the same period in 2021.
According to GHA, Honolulu, Hawaii, came in second with a revenue growth of 305%, and London, UK, came in third with a rise of 30%.
“With the leisure travel rebound accelerating into Q4, business travel steadily on the up, evidenced in revenues from our major corporate accounts recovering to 81 per cent of 2019 levels by the end of Q3 … we are confident of a positive outlook for the full-year 2022 and heading into 2023,” Mr Hartley said.
