China

STR reported China hotel data for the week ended May 6. Hotel RevPAR in China was up 140.9% year over year. The South China Morning Post said Macau’s casinos are still struggling with finding labor as hotel rooms stay shut and the resorts are unable to fully satiate the booming demand from mainland China tourists . Araiya Hotels and Resorts and Kamakhya Hospitality Services Private Limited announced plans for a new urban resort Soul by Araiya, Dharamshala, A Kamakhya Hotel , anticipated to open in Q4 2023.

A white paper on the Corporate Travel Management Market said some 84.5% of companies in China are expecting an increase in domestic travel business budgets for 2023 . Cambodia is making plans to finish developing large tourist areas along its coast on the Gulf of Thailand. Dusit Hotels and Resorts is set to expand its global and domestic footprints by opening three hotels in the next 30 days, including two new properties in Bangkok.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism in China said domestic travelers reached 274 million during the recent Labour Day Golden Week holiday, topping 120% of pre-Covid levels . Hyatt Regency Danang Resort & Spa is set to introduce a new era of exciting hospitality to Vietnam’s central coast. Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has been appointed by Eleven D&C Co., Ltd. to manage Rosewood Seoul , a new build ultra-luxury hotel set to open in 2027.

STR reported China hotel RevPAR for the week ended April 29 was up 138.2% year over year. The Association of Macao Tourist Agents said the first Labor Day holiday after lifting all Covid curbs had exceeded expectations. The General Statistics Office of Vietnam said the number of Chinese citizens traveling to Vietnam is on the rise with 112,000 visiting in April, up 61.5% year on year.

How high will be too high for May Day Golden Week in China as reports continue to pour in about terrific business, soaring room rates, and enormous train ridership. The Macau Government Tourism Office said they were predicting 70,000 visitors a day during the holiday period. Oyo said it turned cash flow positive in the fourth quarter of FY2023 in an internal note to employees .

Vietnamese travelers are said to be opting for outbound tours due to the significant increase in the price of domestic flights as the holiday season approaches, according to travel agents and tour operators. The South China Morning Post said hotel room rates in Hong Kong are surging ahead of the Labour Day holiday. The number of visitor arrivals to Macau in March rose by 271.4% year over year to 1,956,867, according to the Statistics and Census Service.

Fitch Ratings said China’s domestic travel has seen a significant uptick in the first quarter of this year and is likely to gain momentum in the second quarter. Trip.com said the first round of outbound travel fever in China is coming ahead of the May Labor Day . The construction of Galaxy Entertainment’s Raffles at Galaxy Macau and Andaz Macau , as well as the resort of the phase 3 hotel project for the Cotai casino , is basically complete.

The total number of esports hotels in China exceeded 20,000 by the end of February this year, with the occupancy rate reaching an average of 60%. Trip.com said the interest in travel to mainland China has bounced back since the country resumed foreign visa applications. HVS Anarock’s latest report on India says occupancy will improve to 66% at hotels in 2023.

STR reported  China hotel RevPAR, the week ending April 8, was up 108.5% on a year-over-year basis. It was up against an easy -49.5% comparable in 2022. STR said Melbourne’s hotel occupancy was the highest for any month since February 2020 in March 2023. Marriott International CEO Anthony Capuano was interviewed at the HICSA Conference in Bengaluru, India this week. He said Marriott plans to expand to at least 10 new cities in the country in the next two years with over 100 properties .

Hotels were reported to be full in parts of the Philippines during the Holy Week break. The Commerce Federation of Macau Central and Southern District said Macau received over 300,000 visitors during the four-day Easter holiday period . Fosun Tourism expects a sustained boom in Chinese tourism in the second and third quarters. Fosun is planning expansions in resort projects in China’s tier I and tier II cities.