Middle Eastern visitors spend most on UK hotel stays, according to new figures
Middle Eastern visitors spend more than other travellers on hotel stays when visiting the UK, spending almost 60 per cent more per night on a room than the average rate, according to figures published by Hotels.com.
Published in the Hotels Price Index, the figures show that visitors from the region had increased their rate of spending by 8 per cent in the first half of this year, by spending around £180 on a hotel room per night compared with the national average rate of £108.
The list of spenders also revealed that Brazil and Mexico are tied in second place, with visitors from each country spending £141 each night for their stay, while Argentinians came in fourth with a spend of £136.
Most countries out of the 39 measured had increased spends on hotel stays in the UK, though nine nations had also kept the same or decreased their average hotel layout when compared with last year. The greatest decline came from Japanese visitors, who spent 9 per cent less on their hotel stays, at an average price of £126.
It was also found that for shorter-haul travellers to the UK, the highest paying Europeans were the Norwegians who spent £127, a 6 per cent increase on last year. The last 13 places on the list of 39 were made up entirely of European countries.
Lithuanian spenders saw the highest increase, up 20% per cent to £88, but this still placed them at the bottom of the table, paying less than half of the visitors from the table-topping Middle East.
The report also found that the average price of a hotel room around the world increased by 2 per cent during the first six months of 2013, compared with the same period the previous year. This is the fourth year running that the average rate has increased, however the rate of the rise has halved when judged against the 4 per cent rise encountered in the first half of 2012.
More information on the Hotel Price Index is available here.