Abu Dhabi hotel guests up 5%

Abu Dhabi said on Sunday it recorded a five percent growth in the number of hotel guests staying in the UAE capital during February, compared to the same month last year. Guest nights also climbed five percent, according to figures just released by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. Data showed that some 184,296 guests stayed in the emirate\'s hotels and hotel apartments - accounting for 550,352 guest nights. Heightened competitiveness in the Abu Dhabi market led to a five percent drop in hotel occupancy in the first two months of the year to 68 percent although revenue rose one percent to AED818m ($224m). Guest numbers growth for the first two months of this year were 16 percent up on the same period last year at 382,435, while guest nights rose 12 percent to just over 1.1 million. The UK remained Abu Dhabi\'s largest international source market, accounting for 21,960 guests and 105,274 guest nights in the first two months of this year. Germany climbed to second place in terms of guest numbers with 16,867 guests and 69,159 guest nights, the data showed. \"We envisage continued strong performance from Germany aided by the increasing Air Berlin access to Abu Dhabi,\" said Mubarak Al Muhairi, director general, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. From Friday, Air Berlin started to operate thrice-daily to Abu Dhabi International including daily, non-stop flights from Berlin and Dusseldorf. India continued to be a high potential market for Abu Dhabi and now ranks as the emirate\'s third largest international source market in terms of guest arrivals. Performance from Saudi Arabia also continued to grow with 10,461 guests from the Kingdom staying for 30,838 nights during the first two months of the year. \"We are increasing our focus on the GCC and the Saudi Arabian market in particular, where once again we envisage sustained growth which, from April, will be significantly aided by increased Etihad frequency to Abu Dhabi from Dammam and Kuwait,\" added Al Muhairi. From April 1, four new weekly flights will see the national airline of the UAE fly 25 times a week from Kuwait, while the carrier will also fly 16 times a week from Dammam - compared to the current 13 on the route. \"There has been a slight slip in the average length of stay and this is now to be a key focus for us for the remainder of this year,\" said Al Muhairi. \"We are working hard with stakeholders to produce an increasing range of tailored and specialised products and are busy developing consumer focused promotional plans targeting the golf, beach, nature, adventure and MICE segments.\"