Asia-Pacific

STR said hotel RevPAR in China was up 58% year over year for the week ended February 25. The number of foreign tourists arriving in Vietnam in February reached 933,000, up 7.1% versus January. Hilton announced it will bring its Doubletree brand to The Orange City for the first time with DoubleTree by Hilton Nagpur .

STR said the reopening of Japan’s international border several months ago, along with the National Travel Support campaign, have helped boost Tokyo’s hotel average daily rate beyond pre-pandemic comparables for two straight months. Nikkei reported that Japan will launch a project to encourage global hotel operators to open luxury properties in national parks as early as in 2024. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee announced the general requirement for indoor and outdoor masking has been lifted.

IHG Hotels & Resorts said the are pursuing an ambitious expansion plan in Greater China that explores popular and emerging destinations. Hilton’s upscale focused service brand, Hilton Garden Inn , announced the opening of its fiftieth property in Greater China. Brisbane’s $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf Brisbane resort and casino will officially open before Christmas.

Occupancy rates at hotels in Macau rose by 25.4 percentage points in January year over year, reaching 74%. The Standard Hotel is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2023 near Orchard Road in Singapore , across from Shangri-La Singapore along Orange Grove Road. Hiap Hoe has entered into a franchise agreement with Luxury Hotels International of Hong Kong to operate two hotels at 16 AH Hood Road and 1 Jalan Rajah and rebrand them as Aloft Singapore Novena .

China hotel RevPAR rose 62.1% year over year, up against a 14% comp. Fiji ’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism announced they have recovered 71% of their tourist numbers since the reopening of their borders. Low-cost Singapore-based airline Scoot has outlined plans to triple the number of weekly flights to and from China by April.

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. South Korea will increase the number of flights into the country from China to 80 from 62 per week by the end of this month. European Union countries have agreed to phase out pre-departure Covid testing for travelers from China by the end of the month.

The World Travel & Tourism Council reported positive signs of recovery for the Asian travel and tourism sector with five major metropolises seeing a significant economic rebound . Macau visitor arrivals in January doubled year on year, reaching nearly 1.4 million, but a hospitality and tourism management professional has warned Macau will only see half of the yearly pre-pandemic visitors this year . Accor announced plans to open a Mercure property in Tokyo, Japan. Mercure Tokyo Hibiya will be housed within the existing Uchisaiwaicho Heiwa Building, close to JR Shimbashi and Uchisaiwaicho stations .

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. Marriott International is planning 14 new luxury properties opening in the Asia Pacific region this year. IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the signing of voco Bangkok Surawong with Tawanna Property Company Limited, a real estate investor and developer in Thailand .

When going up against the same week in 2019, pre-pandemic, China’s RevPAR last week was up 1.3% despite tough Chinese New Year comps due to the timing of the holiday. The average occupancy rate of hotels in Taiwan was 48.06% last year, the fourth lowest in history, but the average room price per night rose to NT$4,195 (US$138), which is a record high. After four years of London being on top as the five-star hotel capital of the world, they have lost that title to Macau, China .

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. All travel restrictions for residents of Hong Kong and Macau wishing to go to Taiwan will be lifted on February 20, three years after they were imposed. STR said Australia’s hotel performance turned a massive corner during the first half of 2022 as the Omicron wave subsided and governments relaxed travel restrictions around the country.