Travel demand to Dubai should normalise in the next five to six months but room rates will take longer to recover, Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) managing director and CEO Puneet Chhatwal said on Wednesday.
IHCL operates three hotels under the Taj brand in Dubai and these have seen a demand dip following the outbreak of the West Asia conflict in end-February. Industry-wide occupancies in Dubai fell from 80 per cent to 20-30 per cent.
“We should be in a fine place by September-October,” Chhatwal said at the Hotel Investment Conference South Asia event in Mumbai. Summer months are generally a slow season for Dubai and rates tend to be lower than other periods of the year. With demand impacted now, rate recovery would take longer, he said.
Domestic business remains strong and Chhatwal believes that it could actually benefit due to the West Asia conflict. Airfares have surged as airlines levy a fuel surcharge to recover costs and this is impacting demand in long-haul markets.
“Within the Middle East there are many sub-markets. Saudi Arabia market is dependent on domestic demand and so hotels in the country were impacted less than those in Dubai. However if the crisis lasts longer the hospitality industry in the entire region will get affected,” Jester Palmqvist, regional vice president of STR, a real estate data insights firm.
Published on April 8, 2026