Eid Al Fitr holidays will bring a spike in occupancy to hotels in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, according to STR data.
Occupancy levels will spike at the weekend, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi hotels tipped to be more than 80 per cent full said STR.
Kostas Nikolaidis, STR’s account executive for the Middle East and Africa, said: “While typically slower during Ramadan, leisure travel within the Middle East is set to resume during Eid.
Eid Al Fitr 2023 holiday rush
“Many countries offer paid holidays for three to five days post-Ramadan, which is where we typically see spikes in occupancy. This year, however, Qatar announced an 11-day holiday, further extending the length of travel time available to celebrate the end of the Holy Month.”
When looking at the Eid travel period (as of 10 April), Abu Dhabi and Dubai show occupancy on the books peaking on Saturday, April 22 at levels of 59.7% and 60.3%, respectively.
In Qatar, however, occupancy on the books reaches its highest point on Sunday, April 23 (at 42.3%).
“Qatar naturally operates at a lower occupancy when compared to Abu Dhabi and Dubai,” said Nikolaidis. “The extended Eid holiday period in the market this year may lead to lower occupancy peaks as demand could spread across more days.
“Overall, we are anticipating Eid to signal a return to the strong performance seen across the region lately, with Qatar projected to reach the 70% mark, and Abu Dhabi and Dubai expected to achieve occupancy above 80% during the holiday period.”
Last year during Eid, Qatar and Dubai’s occupancy spiked on May 4 at 78.2% and 88.8%, respectively, while Abu Dhabi saw its highest occupancy level on May 3 (at 85.4%).
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