While Asia Pacific region is to have another record year in terms of the number of tourist arrivals in 2013, experts foresee next year to become even more successful. The new report prepared by Cushman & Wakefield, Singapore, states that first half of 2013 features the growth of 8% compared to the same period of 2012.
In 2012, Asia Pacific region was visited by 221.5 million of international visitors. This is 7.2% more than in 2011. If analyzing in sub regions, Southeast Asia took the lead with the growth of 9.9%. Hotels in Singapore posted strong results despite additional 3,500 guestrooms that appeared this year. The only problem that hotels in the region may face is the increase of the cost of manpower.
Serious increase of the number of guestrooms in Singapore and Shanghai has led to some price relief in certain segments. On the other hand, such cities as Yangon, Dhaka, and Colombo still have a limited number of hotels, and so there’s no wonder why their profits are growing. If considering Asia in general, in 2013 RevPAR level will be below 2012, but it will vary in different markets. Even though guestroom supply is growing, the same applies to demand, and so in 2014 Asian hotel markets are expected to post improved results. Hotels in Seoul may be out of this trend because 15,000 new guestrooms will appear in the city within next 2-3 years, and this will double current hotel supply.
Investments in hotel segment of the region will also grow. During first 6 months of 2013 investments reached $5.16 billion of US dollars (+53% comparing to first 6 months of 2012). The volume of investment for the whole year is expected to be around US$10-12 billion. In 2014, the volume of investment is expected to stay on the same level or increase.