May 27 - The overall hotel revenues in the Middle East have gone down with the biggest loser being the hotel industry in Abu Dhabi, said global research provider STR Global. According to a recent report released by the company, the revenue per available room (revPAR) went down by 48.5 per cent in Abu Dhabi to $126 in April over the same time the year before.

This is the fourth consecutive month that the revPAR has registered a consistent decline. Dubai's hotel revPAR is still higher than that of Abu Dhabi’s and has fallen by just 1.9 per cent. However, Elizabeth Randall, Managing Director of STR Global, remained optimistic about the hotel industry’s performance in the Middle East. "The region, which came later in the downturn in 2009, is making progress on the path to recovery," she said.