Middle East & North Africa lead world in increasing hotel prices
Cairo "Almasalla Travel News" – The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has led the world in hotel price increases, according to HotelsCombined’s latest Hotel Price Trends Report released today.
The year-over-year report compared rates from December, January and February 2011/2012 to December, January and February 2012/2013 and found that hotels in the Middle East and North Africa increased in price by eight per cent. Overall, hotel prices worldwide increased four per cent.
While as a region MENA led hotel price increases globally, the top individual locations for price rises were: Alanya and Marmaris, Turkey; Sousse, Tunisia; Bintan, Indonesia; and Vilamoura, Portugal.
Menorca, Spain; Minsk, Belarus; Kiev, Ukraine; Beirut, Lebanon; and Rimini, Italy experienced the most drastic price falls.
Demand for Turkey’s ski resorts, which offer cheap package deals and high-quality snow fields, as well as reported increases in food and labour costs, saw Turkey in the top five price increase list twice. Accommodation prices in Alanya, Turkey increased 66 per cent last quarter, seeing it take the report’s number one spot. Marmaras, Turkey was placed at number three with price increases of 37 per cent.
On the report, HotelsCombined.com PR and community manager Kristen McKenzie said: “As we saw in last year’s report, the MENA region continues to post the greatest price increases. Egypt and Tunisia continue to show a strong rebound in tourism from the Arab Spring. However, Lebanon continues to struggle, likely because of its proximity to war-torn Syria.”
“It’s no surprise the MENA region is once again demonstrating strong growth. These destinations are booming for both leisure and business travellers, thanks to continued investment and added attractions like the world’s biggest ferris wheel planned for Dubai. We won’t see this area slowing down its hotel rate increases anytime soon.”
“We were, however, taken aback by the enormous rate spikes posted across Turkey. While this is probably due to increases in labour and food prices, as well as to the popularly of all-inclusive ski resorts, it’s important to note that Turkey has experienced significant technological growth recently, most especially within the online and mobile sectors. It will be interesting to see how this progress continues to impact Turkey’s tourism industry moving forward.”
South East Asia also reported a spike in hotel rates with an overall price increase of six per cent. Bintan, Indonesia posted price rises of 37 per cent. Part of South East Asia’s healthy rate increase can be attributed to the steady stream of Australian tourists heading there due to the strong Australian dollar.
Top five price increases:
Top five price falls:
Key findings:
• Turkey was the most impressive success story, with all major destinations posting significant price increases
• Neighbouring Greece overall showed significant price increases, signs perhaps of recovery from their recent financial burdens
• Many major European destinations such as Amsterdam, Bucharest, Budapest, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Kiev, Lisbon, Madrid, Oslo, Paris and Warsaw experienced moderate to significant price decreases
