Occupancy in Australian and New Zealand hotels rose from 64.5 per cent in January 2023 to 76.5 per cent in March 2023, with Sydney hotels averaging a huge 85 per cent occupancy from February to March.
And with conditions abruptly returning to normal in China through December 2022 and the early part of January 2023, the recovery of Greater China’s hotel occupancy rate has been equally swift, with occupancy five per cent higher in the January to March 2023 period than in the same months in 2019.
Around the rest of Asia Pacific, Tokyo reached occupancy rates of 80 per cent in the first quarter of the calendar year, while Singapore exceeded record occupancy in 2019 by two to three per cent at the start of 2023.
“We are beyond thrilled by the hospitality resurgence that is currently taking place across Asia Pacific compared to pre-pandemic levels,” said Maria Taylor, Amadeus’ head of commercial for hospitality in APAC.
“This is a hopeful sign that APAC-based hoteliers may expect a substantial rebound in the long run as travel has picked up its pace, both domestically and internationally.”
The return of travel demand is a reassuring sign of travel confidence for business events planners but may also be a double-edged sword in terms of locking in room blocks on short notice due to potential constraints on availability due to high travel demand.