Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah hotel occupancy rises

January 22, 2013

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Jeddah, Jan 22: Hotels in Saudi Arabia experienced noticeable increases in occupancy rates, with Jeddah increasing by 7.0 percent year-to-date, and Madinah increasing 2.0 percent year-to-date, Ernst and Young Middle East said in its latest Hotel Benchmark Survey.

Compared to November 2011, Riyadh’s occupancy rate increased by 17.0 percent in November 2012. This is accredited to the various initiatives undertaken by the city to showcase lost artifacts and the introduction of new cultural experiences to the city.

The report provides a monthly performance overview of leading hotels in the Middle East.

With regard to the wider MENA region, the report saw notable changes in the city of Amman, where overall occupancy rates increased by 16.0 percent year-to-date. The increase may be attributed to the onset of milder climate conditions, in addition to increased political stability which attracts tourists from the neighboring Levant region. The year-to-date room yield in Amman is 31.7 percent higher than it was year-to-date in 2011, with the average room rate 3.1 percent higher than it was year-to-date in 2011.

Commenting on the survey, Yousef Wahbeh, MENA Head of Transaction Real Estate at Ernst & Young, said “the overall occupancy rate in Dubai was at 80 percent year-to-date, rising two per cent from same period of last year. In terms of the monthly performance, Dubai’s overall occupancy rate increased to 90.9 percent, marking a 3.7 percent increase from November 2011.

Additionally, room yield (RevPAR) increased by 10.8 percent year-to-date, with average room rate increasing by 7.5 percent year-to-date.”

Compared to November 2011, rooms yield (RevPAR) increased by 3.8 percent and average room rate marginally decreased by 0.4 percent in November 2012. The increase is attributed to the high number of forums and conferences from the banking & finance sector, securities sector and the oil & gas sector held in Dubai during the month of November. This represents Dubai’s increasing appeal as a business-friendly environment that continues to attract major investments and international projects in addition to the stable and increasing tourism sector within the city.

Bahrain also witnessed positive changes in its hospitality Key Performance Indicators, where the overall occupancy rates increased by 7.0 percent year-to-date. This change is due to several expositions taking place in the Kingdom during the month of November, including the Jewelry Arabia Exhibition, the Oil & Gas Trade Forum and many security talks which included regional heads of state. The year-to-date room yield in Bahrain has increased to 20.7 percent from the 2011, while the average room rate witnessed a mild 0.4 percent drop compared to the same time period last year.

There were no noticeable changes in Egypt, where cities such as Cairo, Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurgada remained stable in their overall occupancy rates, with Cairo’s occupancy rising 7.0 percent year-to-date, Sharm El Shaikh’s occupancy grew 12.0 percent year-to-date, and Hurghada’s occupancy rate grew 8.0 percent year-to-date. Sharm Al Shaikh also witnessed the highest year-to-date growth in Egypt in terms of Rooms Yield, of 16.3 percent compared to the same time period in 2011. In terms of monthly performance, Cairo’s occupancy rate improved 11 percent compared to November 2011, with Sharm El Shaikh increasing 6.0 percent and Hurghada 5.0 percent compared to November 2011.

The improving climate in the UAE and increased political stability in the region are setting up for a successful incline in hotel occupancy, the report added.

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News Network
November 21,2024

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Hamas says the Israeli regime’s sole objective lies in “erasing” the entirety of the Palestinian population from across the Palestinian territories.

Khalil al-Hayya, a ranking official with the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement, made the remarks to the Palestinian al-Aqsa TV on Wednesday.

“The occupation targets everyone—it strikes hospitals, civil defense, women, children, and the elderly,” he said, adding that the regime sought to “empty Gaza of its residents, and displace the Palestinian people to fulfill its dreams of building a Zionist Jewish state across all of Palestine.”

The remarks came amid the regime’s October 2023-present war of genocide on the coastal sliver that has so far claimed the lives of nearly 44,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

“This unprecedented aggression in modern times evokes scenes from the dark ages of human history, having crossed all red lines and exceeded every expectation of brutality in the modern era,” the Palestinian official lamented.

He also regretted that the regime had added “systematic and dangerous starvation to its aggression, falsely claiming before the world that it allows 250 [aid] trucks into Gaza daily. In reality, the number of trucks is far fewer.”

Hayya, meanwhile, regretted that “scenes of children torn apart, women screaming over their children, and heart-wrenching destruction have failed to stir enough humanity to stop these crimes.”

He decried the United States for vetoing the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions that are aimed at bringing about a potential ceasefire in the war, saying this indicated Washington’s “partnership in the aggression” and a simultaneous siege that the Israeli regime has been enforcing on Gaza.

Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the official asserted that, despite what the Israeli official is after, Hamas would not hand over the regime’s captives “without [the regime’s] stopping the war.”

He called Netanyahu “the main obstacle” in the way of cessation of the aggression, saying the Israeli premier “blocks any progress for political reasons,” and citing his preventing conclusion of a ceasefire agreement in July.

Hayya also warned that the regime sought to expand the war beyond Gaza, but asserted that its goals are “impossible and will never happen.”

“Today, the enemy exposes its true intentions of extermination and displacement, but it will fail,” he stressed.

“The Palestinian people are resilient and will not surrender, as they believe in their humanitarian and political cause. The enemy and its allies will not succeed in achieving their goals. This steadfast people will endure, and the occupation will not prevail against them.”

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News Network
November 17,2024

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An Israeli airstrike on the office of Syria’s Baath party in Lebanon’s capital Beirut has killed the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's Media Relations Officer, Mohammad Afif, reports say.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli raid struck the Ba'ath party’s building in central Beirut district of Ras Al-Naba'a on Sunday, adding that the strike was an attempt to assassinate the leader of the resistance media front.

According to Baath Secretary-General Ali Hijazi, Afif was having a meeting in the Baath Party headquarters when Israel carried out the attack.

"Afif did not fight with weapons and did not lead a military unit in Hezbollah. Rather, he led a media unit," he said.

Reuters, Sky News, Al Jazeera and a number of Henrew-language media reported that Afif was killed in the Israeli strike.

However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed Afif’s death or whether he was present at the site or not.

Earlier, the Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and three others injured after an Israeli strike targeted a central district in Beirut.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network reported that five people were killed in the attack.

The latest development came after Afif said Hezbollah was behind the Caesarea operation and targeting Netanyahu’s home during a speech at the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburbs of Beirut on October 22.

This was the second assassination attempt on Afif in the last two months, after he survived an attack on the Hezbollah media relations office several weeks ago.

Israel launched a ground assault and massive air campaign against Lebanon in late September after a year of exchanging fire across the Lebanese border in parallel with the Gaza war.

At least 3,287 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past year, with the vast majority in the past seven weeks. Another 14,222 have been wounded, mostly women and children.

In response to the ongoing aggression, the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of retaliatory strikes against the occupied Palestinian territories and the Israeli forces trying to advance on southern Lebanese areas.

The movement has vowed to sustain its strikes until the regime ends the escalation.

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News Network
November 26,2024

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The extremist Israeli finance minister has called for the occupation of the Gaza Strip and halving the population of the Palestinian territory that is reeling from almost 14 months of genocide.  

Bezalel Smotrich, who has a history of racist statements against Palestinians, made the controversial remarks during a conference of the Yesha Council settler group on Monday.

“We can occupy Gaza and thin the population by half within two years,” through encouraging the so-called “voluntary emigration," he said.

The racist minister also urged the Tel Aviv regime to use its favorable ties with the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump to implement the plan.

“Occupying Gaza is not a dirty word,” he further claimed.

Once the success of the “voluntary emigration" is proven in the besieged Gaza Strip, it can be replicated in the occupied West Bank, he added.

Last month, Smotrich urged the full annexation of the West Bank and Gaza, asserting that Israel should unequivocally declare there would be no Palestinian state.

Israel launched its brutal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

However, nearly 14 months into the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has failed to achieve its declared objectives of finding captives held in Gaza and eliminating Hamas.

So far, the occupying regime has killed at least 44,235 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 104,638 others, in Gaza. 

It has been committing the war crimes of starvation and of intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population in the besieged territory.

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