Sydney

STR reported China hotel RevPAR for the week ended March 11. Hotel RevPAR in China was up 85% year over year for the week. While a great showing, when compared with the same week in 2019, RevPAR was still down -10%. STR said Sydney WorldPride 2023 drove the market’s hotel average daily rate and RevPAR above pre-pandemic levels while […]

Oxford Economics said tourist arrivals into the Asia Pacific region are tipped to reach around 50% of pre-Covid levels in 2023, only fully recovering in 2025 or 2026. Oxford also said Asia Pacific economies still rely too heavily on Chinese tourists who have been slow to return since China reopened on January 8. The tourism outlook was presented as […]

Hilton’s Asia Pacific president, Alan Watts, told Nikkei Asia that they expect hotel guest numbers in China to return to their pre-pandemic levels by year-end. By the fourth quarter, they are expecting to see regular 80% occupancies. Of the 7,000 hotels Hilton runs worldwide, Asia Pacific accounts for about 9% with 672 properties representing 12 brands. […]

Mandarin Oriental Singapore is temporarily closing its doors to undergo a six-month transformation. The Marina Bay property will reopen in September 2023, offering a brand new look and feel. The property has 527 rooms, seven food and beverage outlets, a full service luxury spa and many other facilities. The hotel’s multi-million dollar transformation is set to take place […]

CNBC produced a segment on how hotel rates in Asia Pacific are surging. Squawk Box Asia late last week interviewed Alan Watts, Hilton’s Asia Pacific president who told them rates are at an all time high, clearly following the same pattern rates did in the United States after they opened up the country. Watts said the rates are being […]

IHG Hotels & Resorts said the are pursuing an ambitious expansion plan in Greater China that explores popular and emerging destinations. IHG currently has more than 1,000 hotels operating or under the pipeline. This year they will continue to expand their footprint in Greater China, covering more than 200 cities. In their Luxury & Lifestyle brands segment, Regent received a […]

Singapore has urged Chinese authorities to restore flight capacity between the two nations to pre-Covid levels as soon as possible in a bid to improve business and tourism ties. The Straits Times said Singapore’s Foreign Minister made the request to his Chinese counterpart during a meeting this week. The number of weekly flights between the two is […]

The Philippines Hotel Sales and Marketing Association said hotels in the country remain optimistic of the industry’s performance this year as the average occupancy has already surpassed pre-pandemic levels. For the month of January, hotels were hitting 80% occupancy as compared with 60% to 70% pre-pandemic.  The association attributed the higher occupancy to the strong domestic tourism market, which covers […]

Singapore signaled an end to the Covid-19 era restrictions, removing nearly all remaining mask rules as well as all border restrictions for arrivals who are not fully vaccinated. The measures went into effect this past Monday. Masks are no longer required on public transport and indoor healthcare and residential care settings. The Ministry of Health […]

Marriott International announced it signed an agreement with China Central Place, Suzhou to bring the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott Executive Apartmentsbrands to Suzhou, a major city in Eastern China. The two complex properties are expected to open at the end of 2024 and the middle of 2025, respectively. The dual-branded properties will open in partnership with Suzhou Chunji Real Estate Development. They will […]

The World Travel & Tourism Council’s Cities Economic Impact Report showed travel and tourism’s direct contribution to Sydney, Melbourne and Perth’s GDP and jobs continues to rise. Prolonged border closures in Australia and key markets such as China means visitor spending numbers are still low. In 2019, Perth’s travel and tourism sector contributed over A$4.5 billion to the […]

Singapore said it is expecting between 12 million and 14 million international visitor arrivals in 2023. That would be more than double the 6.3 million final tally of visitors in 2022 but below the 19.1 million that visited in 2019. The Singapore Tourism Board expects tourism receipts to reach S$18 billion to S$21 billion, up from […]