Vietnam

Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh instructed his cabinet to relax certain visa requirements in a bid to attract more foreign tourists to the country. Bloomberg said Chinh wants to offer visa waivers to more countries, expand their e-Visa program and allow foreigners to stay for longer. Vietnam is targeting 8 million visitor arrivals in 2023. They attracted 18 […]

Reuters published an article on how the hoped for, fast out of the gate, revenge travel by the Chinese following the demise of Zero-Covid has not occurred. Instead of a stampede, it has been more like a fast walk. Reuters described Chinese consumers as returning to hotels, restaurants and some shops, but they are choosy about what they buy. […]

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. […]

Savills Vietnam issued a report saying despite improvements in 2022, occupancy and room rates in Ho Chi Minh City have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels. The occupancy rate of 45% last year was 20 percentage points higher year on year but was still 23 percentage points less than the figure in 2019. The average room rate reached 1.6 […]

STR said hotel RevPAR in China was up 58% year over year for the week ended February 25. It was up against a +29.5% comp in 2022. When compared with the same week in 2019, China hotel RevPAR was down -0.6%. The number of foreign tourists arriving in Vietnam in February reached 933,000, up 7.1% versus January. […]

Occupancy rates at hotels in Macau rose by 25.4 percentage points in January year over year, reaching 74%. The dropping of entry requirements and the Chinese New Year holiday resulted in 3 star hotels seeing the highest occupancy rate at 79%, up 26.8 percentage points from January 2022. The 4 star hotel occupancy rate was 70.1%, […]

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 […]

STR said during the seven-day Lunar New Year holiday period, China’s hotel average daily rate surpassed 2019 levels. Occupancy edged closer to the comparable before eventually surpassing it on day seven. Also different from pre-pandemic normal years, many opted for trips to their hometowns as opposed to international travel. Overall 36 of 43 markets in China saw […]

Marriott International’s Ritz-Carlton is presenting a newly elevated experience at The Ritz-Carlton Club across its Asia Pacific hotels, joining a successful launch in Mainland China last summer. The Ritz-Carlton Club provides a private respite where guests will find unique indulgences, curated culinary journeys and personalized encounters that create meaningful and memorable moments for both business and leisure travelers. […]

STR reported China hotel RevPAR for the week ended January 28 was up 177.8% year over year. When compared with the same week in 2019, China hotel RevPAR was up 66.6%. Helping the year over year and 2019 comparison results was the timing of Chinese New Year – January 22, 2023 versus February 1, 2021 and February 5, […]

STR reported hotel RevPAR in China rose 31.5% the week ended January 14. When compared with the same week in 2019, RevPAR was down -28.1%. The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the country has decided to resume outbound group travel to selected countries including Sri Lanka early next month. The pilot program will take effect on February 6 to […]

Hotels in Thailand still want the government to accelerate the launch of the new phase of the domestic stimulus scheme even with an influx of Chinese tourists expected to show up. The Thai Hotels Association said the “We Travel Together” hotel subsidy scheme provides integral support for hotels and domestic tourists in terms of spending but […]