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 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israel has launched a new act of aggression on a residential neighborhood in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing and injuring about two dozen civilians.

The Israeli regime's military said in a statement that its forces carried out a so-called precise strike in a residential apartment in Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

The aggression targeted residential areas, killing at least five people and injuring more than 28 people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. 

Hezbollah announced the martyrdom of senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai and four resistance fighters.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun condemned the airstrike, calling it a clear demonstration of Tel Aviv’s disregard for repeated international calls to halt violations on Lebanese soil.

“Israel refuses to implement international resolutions and all efforts aimed at ending the escalation and restoring stability,” Aoun said, urging the international community to take action to prevent further aggression.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also condemned the attack, holding the international community accountable. 

“The international community bears responsibility and continues to provide cover for these attacks as long as it does not restrain the occupiers,” said Ali Abu Shahin, a member of the group’s political bureau.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Israeli army carried out a strike “in the heart of Beirut."

Netanyahu reportedly approved the operation following recommendations from top Israeli security officials.

Two senior US officials commented on the Israeli strike.

The first official said that Israel did not notify Americans in advance about the attack. "We were informed immediately after the strike was carried out."

The second senior official said that the "US knew for several days that Israel was planning to escalate its strikes in Lebanon, but did not know in advance the timing, location, or target of the strike."

Speaking from the site of the Israeli strike, Lebanese MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack as part of a broader campaign of aggression that has targeted "all of Lebanon since the Washington-sponsored ceasefire."

He stated that "any attack on Lebanon is a violation of red lines; this aggression is part and parcel of the entity that targets Lebanon's dignity, sovereignty, and security of citizens."

Ammar went on to say the resistance is responding with "utmost wisdom, patience, and will confront the enemy at the appropriate time."

"Unfortunately, the enemy is emboldened to commit its aggression by voices within Lebanon that have turned themselves into tools that support its aggression," he added.

The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital is the latest blatant violation of the ceasefire Israel signed with Hezbollah in November 2024, which was intended to end hostilities that had escalated into full-scale war.

An Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least 14 people. It wounded several others, including young students, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The military claimed the attack targeted “a Hamas training compound” used to plan and carry out attacks against the regime -- a claim that has frequently been made without evidence.

Hamas rejected the allegations as “a blatant lie aimed at justifying the massacre,” stating it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was merely “an open sports field.”

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 4,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents across the country since October 2023.

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