BEIJING - Hotels in
China continue to fuel revenue per available room
(revPAR) growth throughout the Asia-Pacific
region, according to the latest hotel performance
data from the Hotel Benchmark Survey by consulting
and professional services giant Deloitte and
Touche.
During the first eight months of
2005 Chinese hotel markets have witnessed an
average revPAR growth of 14.3%. Major commercial
markets have fared even better, with Beijing and Hong Kong reporting
growth in excess of 20%. Even in Shanghai where hotel
construction is at a fever pitch, revPAR grew 17%.
The robust performance of the Chinese
hotel industry is reflected
in the
latest international visitor arrival data from the
World Tourism Organization (WTO), which reveals
China achieved above-average growth in visitor
arrivals and tourism receipts during the first
seven months of this year. International visitor
arrivals increased by about 16% and tourism
receipts by more than 20%.
The
only country where revPAR improvement has
surpassed principal Chinese cities is Vietnam
where both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have
experienced revPAR growth of more than 30%. Much
of this growth has been driven by double-digit
increases in occupancy. The country was hard-hit
in recent years by the SARS and bird flu crises,
which halted demand growth, and the recent growth
in occupancy to reach 72%, now brings the country
back in line with the regional average. A
relaxation in visa requirements has certainly
helped stimulate demand, particularly from
Vietnam's southeast Asian neighbors, and explains
why international visitor arrivals are reported to
have improved 22% during the first seven months of
the year.
Unaffected by the tsunami that
hit South Asia in December last year, Vietnam is
also benefiting from "displaced" tourism. Other
markets that appear to have benefited include Bali
and Hua Hin, Thailand, where revPAR figures have
increased 14% and 24%, respectively. However, the
recent bombings in Bali, three years on from the
October 12, 2002 attacks, may well temper
performance in the short term. Thankfully, so far
no travel advisories have been issued to the
island, so there are hopes that the industry will
recover quickly, as has happened in other areas of
the world.
Conversely, in Phuket, Thailand,
which was badly affected by the tsunami, hotel
performance remains weak and revPAR has fallen
40%. In fact, Phuket is the only market in Asia
that has reported negative revPAR during the first
eight months of the year. The recent re-openings
of the Meridien Phuket and nearby Meridien Kho
Lak, both severely damaged by the tsunami, should
help raise awareness that the city is back in
business.
Marvin Rust, partner in charge of
hotels at Deloitte, analyzed the overall hotel
situation in the region this way: "Hotels across
the Asia Pacific region continue to display
remarkable resilience in the face of adversity.
Ten months on from the tsunami, international
arrivals are up 25 million as visitors continue to
flock to the region to explore the magic which is
Asia. This has continued to boost revPAR, which
has improved 11.3% during the first eight months
of the year. Performance in China has been
particularly strong, and the recent opening of
Disneyland Hong Kong should ensure that the
country maintains this momentum for the rest of
the year, as visitors flock to see [the new theme
park]."
This
year looks set to be another strong year for
tourism, with Asia expected to achieve close to
10% growth in international visitor arrivals,
nearly twice the global average. This will
translate into both a higher level of demand and
continued average room rate growth for the
industry. With a plethora of sporting activities
on the horizon - the Commonwealth Games in
Melbourne (2006) and New Delhi (2010) combined
with the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 - the region
will continue to raise its profile on the world
stage, which bodes well for the future prospects
of Asia's hotel industry.
