UAE Hotels Preparing for a V-Shaped Recovery, After Vaccine Rollout and Herd Immunity Take Effect

Recent hospitality industry reports and analysis published by STR and Colliers International, have revealed that hotels in the UAE have put up a sterling performance, given the challenges of operating during the pandemic last year.

To support the hotel industry still further during the vaccine rollout, Arabian Travel Market (ATM), which will take place in-person at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) 16-19 May 2021, is organising a Hotel Summit on Tuesday 18^th May.

The event will address and debate the trends and key drivers that will support the Middle East’s hotel sector’s recovery, as the vaccine rollout gathers momentum and herd immunity takes effect.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said, “According to STR data, the Middle East region was a top performer globally during 2020, with average occupancy of 45.9%. One of best performing countries was the UAE with an average occupancy of 51.7% and an average daily rate (ADR) of $114."

“Although these figures were 29.3% & 16.5% down Y-on-Y, given the challenges presented by the pandemic, it is a remarkable achievement and proves just how resilient the hotel sector is in the UAE and wider Middle East."

“Furthermore, if we drill down on these figures, ADR in Fujairah and RAK actually rose last year by 7% and 1% respectively, compared with 2019 and over the New Year’s celebrations hotels in Dubai were running average occupancies of 76% with an ADR of $300."

“I am certain that many hoteliers in the Middle East are now preparing for a V-shaped recovery, especially with the successful rollout of the vaccine and the ensuing herd immunity,” added Curtis.   

Indeed, more positives can be drawn from a recent YouGov luxury survey which revealed that more than half (52%) of the respondents said they were planning to take a domestic holiday or staycation during 2021 and a further 25% were planning to make a business trip, either domestically or internationally, with only 4% having no plans to travel anywhere in 2021.

“Moreover, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also indicated that British nationals may be allowed to travel without any restrictions as soon as June 21st, which, given their close ties, would be a major boost for business and leisure travel throughout the Middle East,” added Curtis.

Initially two sessions will take place at the Hotel Summit on ATM’s Global Stage, the first will address the changing roles of hotels, such as workations and changing guest expectations and the second discussion will look into the issue of enhancing the hospitality experience, while introducing technological innovation.

Expert panelists will include Marloes Knippenberg, CEO, Kerten Hospitality, Mark Kirby, COO, Emaar Hospitality, Jose Silva, CEO, Jumeirah Group, Guido De Wilde, Chief Operating Officer, Marriott International in the Middle East and Stefan Leser, CEO, Langham Hospitality, amongst others.

A further session will take place during ATM’s virtual event on Tuesday 25^th May, when a panel of experts will examine whether wellness and sustainability trends, will be accelerated during the post-pandemic recovery.

Now in its 28^th year and working in collaboration with DWTC and Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), the theme of the show will be ‘A new dawn for travel and tourism’ and the spotlight will be thrown onto the current state of the industry and more importantly, what the future holds. It will also look at the emerging trends and how innovation can drive the industry forward.

ATM 2021 will also play an integral role in Arabian Travel Week and for the first time, a new hybrid format will be in place. This means an additional virtual ATM will be organised to run the following week, which will complement the in-person event by accommodating visitors who may be unable to travel to Dubai. The inaugural ATM Virtual 2020 attracted 12,000 online attendees from 140 countries, over three days.

ATM 2021’s strategic partners include Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) as Destination Partner, Emaar Hospitality Group as Official Hotel Partner and Emirates as Official Airline Partner.

Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world to visit with a wide range of precautionary measures in place to ensure the safety of tourists at every stage and touchpoint of their travel journey, from arrival to departure.  Dubai’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of hygiene and safety and its effective citywide management of the pandemic received a strong endorsement from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which gave the city a ‘Safe Travels’ stamp.

About Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

Arabian Travel Market (ATM), now on its 28th year, continues to be the focal point for the Middle East’s resilient and ever-changing travel and tourism landscape and prides itself on being the hub of all travel and tourism ideas, providing a platform to discuss insights on the ever-changing industry, share innovations and unlock endless business opportunities. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #IdeasArriveHere

Next in-person event: Sunday 16 to Wednesday 19 May 2021, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai

Next virtual event: Monday 24 to Wednesday 26 May 2021

About Arabian Travel Week

Arabian Travel Week is a festival of events taking place within and alongside Arabian Travel Market 2021. It includes ATM Virtual, ILTM Arabia, Arival Dubai, the Travel Agents’ Academy, The ATM Influencers day, the Digital Influencer Speed Networking and Travel Forward – a new travel tech and hospitality innovation event launching this year. It also features the ATM Buyer Forums, ATM Speed Networking Events as well as The Saudi, India and China Summits. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector, Arabian Travel Week will take place in Dubai from Sunday 16^th to Thursday 26th May 2021. 

About Reed Exhibitions Global

Reed Exhibitions is a leading global events business. It combines face-to-face with data and digital tools to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at over 400 events in 22 countries across 43 industry sectors, attracting more than 7 million participants. Our events leverage industry expertise, large data sets and technology to enable our customers to connect face-to-face or digitally and generate billions of dollars of revenues for the economic development of local markets and national economies around the world. Reed Exhibitions is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics for professional and business customers. 

About RELX

RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs over 33,000 people, of whom almost half are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX.  The market capitalisation is approximately £33bn, €39bn, $47bn.*

About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events, online portals and virtual platforms across four continents, generating more than $7.5 billion of industry deals. The events are:

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Around 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating over £3.71 billion in travel industry contracts.

WTM Virtual, is the WTM Portfolio virtual platform, created to offer global delegates the chance to arrange one-to-one virtual meetings, to do business, attend conference sessions and roundtables, take part in speed networking and more. WTM Virtual embrace the global leading travel shows in one platform.

WTM Latin America attracts around 19,000 participants – 11,586 unique. The trade show, which takes place in São Paulo, has a worldwide audience that meets to establish the direction of the travel industry. The event is recognised for attracting a high level of professionals from the segment, including buyers and travel agents. It also offers programmes with qualified content and plenty of opportunities for networking and generating business that is relevant to the travel industry.

WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. More than 6,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors.