Philippines

Hotel prices are surging during the upcoming Golden Week in popular cities, driven by the extended Golden Week, which includes the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day Holiday. Sydney, Australia, experienced record-high performance levels in August 2023 due to the FIFA Women's World Cup, with increased occupancy and average daily rates. Accor is expanding its presence in Japan by adding 23 properties and over 6,000 rooms to its network, with renovations and rebranding set to take place, doubling its presence in the country.

Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix expects lower attendance in 2023 but higher receipts compared to pre-Covid levels, with foreign attendees driving up hotel room rates. Rosewood Hotels & Resorts is expanding into New Zealand, adding three properties to its portfolio in the Oceania region. Mana Hotels expands beyond Rajasthan with a new homestay in Rishikesh, while IHG Hotels & Resorts plans to add more hotels to its Indian portfolio, with a focus on Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands.

Foreign arrivals in the Philippines reached 3.3 million in the first eight months of 2023, approaching the government's annual goal of 4.8 million. South Korea was the top source of inbound tourists. Trip.com Group reported robust recovery in domestic and international business in 2Q23, with strong growth in domestic hotel bookings in China. However, outbound hotel and air reservations remained down compared to pre-Covid levels. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts signed three new agreements with Indonesia Hospitality Group, expanding its presence in Indonesia. This follows the earlier launch of the Howard Johnson by Wyndham brand in Indonesia.

Both Thailand and South Korea are implementing strategies to entice Chinese tourists, including visa exemptions, tax refunds, and rewards. Thailand's response comes after a drop in Chinese tourist arrivals, while South Korea offers incentives like visa fee waivers and cultural experiences. The Philippines establishes a Korea Visa Application Center to handle increased visa requests between the two nations. Travel between Korea and the Philippines has surged, showing potential to surpass pre-pandemic levels. Avani Hotel construction begins in Australia, Accor expands its properties with Novotel Living in Vietnam, and Marriott introduces new properties in Bali and Thailand. Deepak Ohri departs from lebua Hotels and Resorts, while Vaibhav Verma becomes Chief Revenue Officer at juSTa Hotels & Resorts. Ms. Thapanee Kiatphaiboon assumes leadership at Thailand's Tourism Authority.

In Q2 2023, the Asia Pacific hotel construction pipeline reached a record high of 1,936 projects with 401,766 rooms. Luxury, upper upscale, and upscale projects dominated the pipeline. Countries with the largest pipelines are India, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan. Macau has surpassed Hong Kong as the preferred travel destination for mainland Chinese travelers in 2023, receiving nearly twice as many visitors. Around 50.9% of outbound Chinese travelers chose Macau, while Hong Kong received about 26.7%. Mainland Chinese tourists prefer destinations in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Accor is expanding its hotel offerings. They are introducing the Handwritten Collection in Thailand with the Andaman Beach Hotel Phuket, opening a Mercure hotel in Lucknow, India, and launching Lords Inn hotels in Jamnagar, Gujarat, and Kanki, West Bengal. Accor has also partnered with Reliance Industries and Renest Hotels & Resorts for new properties.

Foreign investors like Goldman Sachs, KKR, and Blackstone have invested $2 billion in Japanese hotel deals this year, driven by a hotel business rebound and favorable exchange rates. Hilton plans substantial growth in Southeast Asia, introducing a new Hilton Garden Inn prototype and adding seven new hotels in Malaysia, including new brands like Curio Collection and Waldorf Astoria. Accor expands across Asia with 30 new hotels, focusing on markets like Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India, while also partnering to introduce the Swissotel brand to Malaysia with Swissotel Genting Highlands.

The Philippines Department of Tourism anticipates surpassing industry targets for tourism recovery this year, with foreign tourism receipts of Php 286 billion from January to July, reflecting over 66% international arrivals recovery, outperforming the ASEAN average of 54%. Macau experienced a significant 24.9% increase in visitor arrivals in July, totaling 2,759,544, with mainland China contributing 1,910,371 arrivals. The Philippines led the source market for foreign arrivals, contributing to Macau's total of 14,405,421 visitors for the first seven months of 2023, marking a 310% YoY growth. Hilton plans to open over 730 properties in mainland China in the next decade, capitalizing on rising demand from the middle class amid a tourism rebound. Hilton achieved a 69.9% occupancy rate in the Asia Pacific region during Q2 2023, with a remarkable 79% year-on-year increase in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR).

Chinese Hotel Performance: Hotel RevPAR in China increased by 37% compared to the same week last year, despite a strong 107.7% increase from a year ago. In comparison to 2019, RevPAR rose by 16.9%. Chinese Travelers in Singapore : Chinese tourists were the largest source of visitors to Singapore in July, doubling their numbers from June. Singapore experienced a 104.2% increase in visitor arrivals from China, contributing to a 95.3% year-on-year rise in total arrivals for the month. Hotel Openings and Expansions : Accor is partnering with Sarin Hotels for a new Sebel hotel in Wellington, New Zealand; Hotel Marvell, Byron Bay's first five-star hotel, is opening with luxurious amenities; Melco Resorts' W Macau hotel will open in Macau's Studio City with 557 rooms; and Narai Hospitality Group is set to open Lub d Japan Osaka Honmachi, expanding their presence globally.

Vietnam's condotel market remains sluggish with excess inventory, unlikely to recover before 2025. Grand Ho Tram Strip casino resort introduces Ixora Ho Tram Fusion luxury residences to boost sales. Guangdong , China experiences high visa applications for Macau and Hong Kong due to increased tourism.

Bloomberry Resorts ' new integrated resort in Quezon City , Philippines, Solaire Resort North, is facing further delays, potentially pushing the opening from the first quarter of 2024 to the second quarter. Philippines developer Megaworld is set to open the country's largest hotel complex, Grand Westside Hotel, in Manila's Entertainment City, with the first tower opening before the end of the year and the second tower in 2024. Discovery World Corp has opened a five-star resort hotel, Discovery Samal, in Limao, Philippines, featuring 128 hotel suites and extensive facilities, aiming to boost tourist arrivals in the region.