Jumeirah RevPar Up 22% In Q1

Jumeirah Group recorded 22 per cent global REVPar growth in the first quarter and average daily rate and average occupancy both increased by nine per cent.

Russia (up 19.2 per cent) knocked the UK (16.2 per cent) off top source market spot in Dubai.

Speaking at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, Gerald Lawless, President and CEO of Jumeirah Group, said yesterday’s announcement to double the number of hotel rooms in Dubai was “100 per cent achievable”.

“If Dubai wins Expo 2020 then it’s a given, and even without it we’ll reach 20 million.”

Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel & Spa opens on May 7 in Kuwait. Lawless said Jumeirah was targeting a major push into Saudi Arabia and identified Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Vietnam for future openings.

The group has seen a surge in internet bookings with 115,160 room nights booked online last year, up 23 per cent, although only 1,113 were booked by mobile, a figure which is likely to soar.

Work on phase IV of Madinat Jumeirah, which will include a 430-room hotel, will start in the summer and is due to be completed by 2015.