Abu Dhabi ranks 24th in prices as hotel room rates decline

Abu Dhabi has moved from being the second most expensive city in the world for hotel rooms two years ago to stand in 24th place on the list this year.

Hotel room rates declined in the UAE capital by nearly 15 per cent in the first six months of this year compared with the corresponding period last year from £185.62 (Dh1,105) to £158.07, according to a survey by Hogg Robinson Group, an international corporate services company based in the UK. An increase in the supply of rooms has made Abu Dhabi a much less expensive destination. Abu Dhabi moved to being the eighth most expensive city in the first six months of last year, after being placed in the second spot behind Moscow a year earlier.

Dubai's average room rates dropped by 7 per cent to £148.44 in the first half of this year from £158.86 during the same period last year, putting it in 28th place.

Hotel rates worldwide rose by an average 4 per cent in the first half of this year. Moscow remained at the top, while Istanbul climbed into the top 10 with a sharp increase in hotel rates.

Rates in Asia rose the most, reflecting "the region's growing economic dominance and the proliferation of financial centres across the region including Hong Kong and Singapore", said Margaret Bowler, Hogg Robinson's director of global hotel relations.

rbundhun@thenational.ae