July 2009 Asia Pacific Hotel Industry Statistics

According to data compiled by STR Global, occupancy levels in the Asia Pacific region for the month of July 2009 dropped 6.3% year-on-year to 61.7%, ADR declined 15.9% to US$113.20, and RevPAR fell 21.2% to US$69.83.

“Asia showed slight signs of improvement in July, with many markets falling less than the previous month,” said James Chappell, managing director of STR Global. “RevPAR growth in the region as a whole went from a 25.3% decrease in June to a 21.2% decrease in July, making the year-to-date numbers look slightly better as a result. The reason for this slight improvement was mostly due to occupancy, with levels for July down 6.3%, compared to a 10.8% decline the previous month.”

“North Eastern Asia, which includes China, Japan and Korea, improved from an occupancy decrease of 12.3% in June to 4.6% decrease in July, although any hopes that this will be part of a trend are liable to be wiped out in the next two months as the year-on-year effect of the Beijing Olympics is felt, which will have a huge impact on both rate and occupancy growth for not only Beijing itself, but also for other cities like Hong Kong that also hosted events”, Chappell added. “Another interesting market to mention is Japan, one of the three countries that have apparently ‘come out’ of recession, the other two being France and Germany. Japan as a whole improved from a 19% RevPAR decrease in June to a 16% decline in July, with Tokyo improving from a RevPAR decrease of 12.6% in June to a decrease of 4.3% in July, which might herald a return on investment of the large Japanese stimulus package.”

Among the key markets, Beijing, China, reported the only occupancy increase, jumping 12.4% to 54.3%. Brisbane, Australia, was virtually flat in occupancy for the month, dropping 0.7% to 83.4%. Bangkok, Thailand, experienced the largest drop in occupancy, decreasing 25.6% to 52.7%. Jakarta, Indonesia (-15.7% to 62.5%) and Hong Kong, China (-15.3% to 69.5%) also reported occupancy decreases of more than 15%.

Tokyo, Japan, posted the largest ADR increase in U.S. dollars, jumping 14.5% to US$216.08. Two other markets reported ADR increases for the month: Bali, Indonesia (+10.6% to US$138.21) and Osaka, Japan (+3.5% to US$112.61).

Three markets experienced ADR decreases of more than 30%: Mumbai, India (-35.4% to US$166.68); New Delhi, India (-33.2% to US$152.37); and Beijing (-30.5 to US$87.62).

Tokyo reported the largest RevPAR increase, up 8.5% to US$154.63, followed by Bali with a 4.9% increase to US$112.74.

Four markets posted RevPAR decreases of 30% or more: Mumbai (-39.6% to US$92.03); New Delhi (-38.7% to US$92.92); Bangkok (-35.9% to US$46.07); and Sydney, Australia (-30% to US$98.80).

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