Saudi Arabia Leads Hospitality Recovery in Middle East
Saudi Arabia is showing the strongest recovery in Middle East, with advance hotel booking steadily rising, as per latest report by hotel connectivity expert eRevMax. The company has been tracking reservation trends for its connected properties in the country since the beginning of the pandemic and has witnessed a sharp fall in April & May, which has since developed into a V-shape recovery starting in June.
Holding January 2020 as constant and computing the % change across the following months, this report reflects the reservation trends, based on data processed by eRevMax for its client hotels worldwide.
Saudi Arabia - Travel optimism peaking by leaps and bounds
Saudi Arabia has the second highest number of Covid-19 cases in the region. However, with patient recovery rate higher than the global average, the Kingdom has been easing restrictions since June. As per Government reports, domestic tourism, which went into a freefall in April-May, went ahead by 18% in June, compared to last year, with hotel occupancy bouncing back to between 85% to 90%.
In August, the advance bookings exceeded pre-Covid level reaching 110%, for eRevMax partner hotels in Saudi Arabia.
"Saudi Tourism Authority has been focusing on travel and hospitality as a vital sector and working on various initiatives to promote domestic tourism. The country is already starting to welcome a limited number of pilgrims following months of tight restrictions. This is a strong example of effective government policies and seamless execution leading to robust travel recovery and boost in economy,” commented Udai Singh Solanki, Co-CEO & CTO, eRevMax.
eRevMax continues to provide seamless connectivity and business intelligence solutions to thousands of hotels worldwide. It is constantly monitoring booking data across geographies. The company continues to publish country reports for key markets to showcase relevant booking trends and traveller expectations for hotels to use and rebuild their distribution strategies.