Singapore's 2023 Tourism Receipts Surpassed Forecast

STR reported China hotel data for the week ended January 27. China Hotel RevPAR was down -11.2% year over year. It faced an extremely tough comparison as last year was up against a +177.8% comp. Chinese New Year 2023 was January 22nd.

The Tongcheng Research Institute produced a study showing some 63.9% of Chinese respondents to a survey have plans for outbound travel, with over 40% planning to complete more than two outbound trips in 2024. For Chinese New Year, they will be staying close to home with only 13.5% saying they are planning outbound travel during the upcoming Chinese New Year. 21.6% said they are considering outbound travel for the summer vacation and 13.7% are considering it for China’s National Day Golden Week in October. 46.8% said they are avoiding public holiday periods for outbound travel.

The Singapore Tourism Board said tourism receipts in 2023 surpassed their forecast. This was driven by key markets such as Indonesia, China and Malaysia, the top three contributors in 2023 with 2.3 million, 1.4 million and 1.1 million visitors respectively. STB expects the strong tourism recovery to continue in 2024 with both international visitor arrivals and tourism receipts to show year over year growth. Projections for 2024 international visitor arrivals range from 15 million to 16 million with anticipated contributions of about S$26 billion to S$27.5 billion in tourism receipts. 2023 visitor arrivals totaled 13.6 million, on the high end of STB’s forecast. Tourism receipts were S$24.5 billion to S$26 billion. STB had projected receipts of between S$18 billion and S$21 billion.

The South Australian Tourism Commission said visitor expenditure in South Australia hit a record A$10.2 billion in the year ended September 2023. This is the first time it crossed the 10 billion dollar mark. International expenditures notably surpassed pre-pandemic levels, achieving a record $1.22 billion.

Capella Hotels and Resorts announced the opening of Capella Taipei in the winter of 2024. They expect the 86 key luxurious retreat to become an urban sanctuary in the heart of Taipei’s Dunhua North Road. Capella Taipei is located close to Songshan International Airport, situated near Xingtian Temple and Taipei Arena. The hotel’s concept of a modern mansion was birthed out of Andre Fu Studio and Andre’s personal reflection of Taipei. Food and beverage options will include the Grill and the Patisserie along with authentic Cantonese cuisine with Taiwanese influence and a premier Japanese Omakase restaurant. A two story destination offers a mixology-focused ground floor and other bar-centric concepts to be announced soon. Capella Wellness will be on the second floor giving guests access to four treatment rooms, a fitness studio equipped with Technogym latest offerings and an outdoor heated pool. Corporate facilities for meeting spaces, called The Campus, will include a conference hall and two additional meeting spaces. The property will also feature a private event hall and salon with its own discreet private entry.

Banyan Group unveiled its latest collection of branded residences at the over 1,000 acre Laguna Phuket which stretches along 3km of white sands on Bang Tao Beach in Phuket, Thailand. The single story residences are located within the Banyan Tree Grand Residences gated estate, overlooking a tranquil lagoon and the Banyan Tree Phuket resort. They range from three to five bedrooms, managed as part of the Banyan Tree Phuket resort. The larger four and five bedroom villas are private residences. Five Beach Villas are available for sale. The Banyan Tree Residences Beach Residences are positioned behind the Banyan Tree Beach Villas in two low rise building, each containing 10 residences. Atop each building are two four-bedroom Penthouses, occupying the entire top fourth floor.

Six Senses Kyoto, located in the heart of Japan’s ancient capital city, is expected to open in late April, 2024. This marks the brand’s entry into Japan, complete with cutting edge wellness and spa facilities, an innovative dining concept and more. The resort will have 81 guest rooms and suites, located in the historic Higashiyama district. The rooms range from 42 to 238 square meters with the Three Bedroom Penthouse Suite secluded on the top floor of the hotel. Six Senses Spa includes traditional male and female bath houses. Yoga, meditation, aerial yoga, a gym and Biohack Recovery Lounge are available to guests to help support their wellness goals. The Eat with Six Senses ethos was brought to Kyoto. There is an all-day dining restaurant and counter-style sushi restaurant, cocktail lounge and bar.

TFE Hotels announced a new partnership agreement in Western Australia. Boutique fund manager, Serene Capital, has taken ownership of the Adina Apartment Hotel Barrack Plaza, a 100 key hotel in Perth’s CBD. As of yesterday, the hotel joined more than A$850 million assets currently under Serene Capital management. TFE said that Adina Barrack Plaza was the third hotel that Serene Capital and TFF had partnered on in Australia. Adina Barrack Plaza is the eleventh asset in Serene’s flagship hotel fund, Serene Capital Hotel Fund 1. Serene said they have more acquisitions in the pipeline. They will look to acquire additional hotels in the fund throughout 2024 with additional equity to be raised from family offices, HNW individuals and wholesale investors as part of the third close of the fund on March 31, 2024. TFE is working on a refurbishment plan with Serene for Barrack Plaza, as part of a rolling refurbishment for all first generation Adinas.

Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria brand announced its debut in the Seychelles with the opening of Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island. The resort houses an intimate collection of 50 seafront villas with personal concierge services including one to three bedroom villas as well as a master planned five bedroom villa with expansive gardens.

Hilton announced the opening of Hilton Port Moresby Residences, marking the first branded residences in Papau New Guinea. Hilton will manage the newly built Residences alongside the currently operating Hilton Port Moresby Hotel under a management agreement with Star Mountain Plaza Ltd. The hotel includes a convention center and six food and beverage outlets. The Residences offer an option of studio, one bedroom, two bedroom or three bedroom apartments. The residences offer an outdoor pool and sundeck, fitness center, in-room dining, Hubworks coworking community and retail space.