SINGAPORE hotels’ average room rate (ARR) rose sequentially in August, even as international visitor arrivals slipped, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) data showed on Monday (Sep 30). But other hotel industry indicators fell.
ARR in August picked up 1.7 per cent to S$282.26, from the preceding month’s S$277.55. It was mostly flat on the year, down a marginal 0.1 per cent from August 2023’s S$282.52.
In contrast, overall hotel room revenue, revenue per available room (RevPAR) and average occupancy rate registered slight decreases on the month, even as these indicators were up year on year.
These came as tourist arrivals fell 3.9 per cent to 1.54 million, from July’s 1.6 million, but jumped 17.3 per cent from the year-ago period’s 1.31 million.
Overall room revenue, at S$488.1 million, was slightly lower than the year-to-date high of S$490.4 million in July. But it grew 7.9 per cent against the year-ago takings.
July’s RevPAR and average occupancy rate also remain the highest this year.
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RevPAR in August dipped to S$247.56, from S$248.72 in the preceding month. It was up 1.5 per cent from the year-ago period, where RevPAR was S$243.93.
The average occupancy rate slipped to 87.7 per cent in August, from 89.6 per cent in July. But the latest reading is still higher than August 2023’s 86.3 per cent.
Rates also picked up across most hotel categories month on month. ARR increased to S$659.75 (from S$639.67) in the luxury segment, S$331.32 (from S$321.54) in the upscale segment, and S$212.28 (from S$211.97) in the mid-tier segment. In the economy segment, ARR was largely similar to the preceding month, edging down to S$148.25, from S$148.45 before.
In the year to date, Singapore’s ARR was up 2.3 per cent year on year to S$279.10. Overall room revenue, at S$3.6 billion, grew 15 per cent. RevPAR increased 3.2 per cent to S$229.96, and the average occupancy rate ticked up 0.7 per cent to 82.4 per cent.
Geographical breakdown
While the number of visitors from China fell month on month in August to 403,124 from 412,947, the country remained the top source of visitors. Also down was the number of visitors from Indonesia, the second-largest source of tourists, at 163,909, from 209,823 before.
Next was India, overtaking Australia with 91,804 tourists last month, up from 89,701 in July. Australia was in fourth place on the list of top source countries with 82,958 visitors, down from 105,660 in the preceding month.
In August, 81,801 hailed from Japan, a jump from 51,162 in July. This pushed Malaysia out of the top five for the first time since February 2021.
In the first eight months of the year, Singapore welcomed 11.3 million international visitors. STB chief executive Melissa Ow said at this year’s Tourism Industry Conference that the agency expects 15 million to 16.5 million tourist arrivals for the full year.
