The Asia hotels market is expected to continue its steady gains heading into the second half of 2024 with increased activity from global food and beverage brands set to play a significant role. 

According to a new report from leading diversified professional services and investment management company Colliers, hotels across Asia witnessed a revenue per available room  (RevPAR) increase of 1.3% YTD April 2024 (in US$) compared to the same period in 2023.

Colliers’ Q2 2024 Asia Hospitality Insights report found that apart from Mainland China and the  Maldives, all markets were above their 2023 YTD April performance for the corresponding period  in 2024. 

Increasing arrivals and favourable foreign exchange rates had led to strong performances in  Hong Kong and Japan, with Singapore’s stellar line up of events in Q1 2024, such as Taylor Swift  and Coldplay converts, significantly benefitting hoteliers. On the back of an impressive post  COVID recovery, the Maldives has, however, started to slow as elections in its major source  markets weigh on performance there.

“With more than 70% of the world’s population having elections, if history is anything to go by,  we are likely to see travel slow to more regional and domestic destinations. As such, we expect  modest gains when compared to 2023 as we head into H2 2024,” Govinda Singh, Executive  Director of Hotels & Leisure, Asia, said.

Mr Singh said an increasingly influential factor moving into the second half of the year would be  global food and beverage (F&B) brands, including some high-profile names in the fast food and  coffee chain segments, continuing to secure space for flagship stores across Asia.

“F&B remains dominant in retail leasing, with coffee shops, both home-grown and international  brands, completing a wave of new openings across large cities,” he said. “Casual dining and bars such as Matcha and Ralph’s Coffee, also exhibited strong demand in the first half of 2024 as did  chef-driven F&B formats such as Le Petit Chef and Paquet Monte.

“Across Asia Pacific, the retail market has experienced signs of improvement, driven by the  recovery in tourist inflows. Tourist-oriented retailers in the APAC region are therefore in robust  expansion mode and showed strong interest in securing their presence on high streets at prime locations.

“An emerging trend is the launch of luxury fashion designer-owned restaurants, bars and cafes especially along luxury-oriented streets and hotels in fashion and shopping capitals such as  Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, and Macau while new restaurants in Hong Kong and Shanghai focus  on Chinese and Japanese cuisine.”

Japan saw new records in tourist spending (US$37.7 billion) in 2023 due to the weak yen and  good performance in the F&B and luxury goods sectors. A significant recovery of 79% in Japan’s  visitor arrivals in 2023 compared to 2019 boosted F&B sales with a 6.3% year-on-year increase. 

Singapore’s visitor arrivals of 13.6 million in 2023 recovered 71% of the 2019 level and the  country’s tourism receipt in 2023 reached S$27.2 billion (98.2% of 2019 level). It is expected to  reach around $29 billion in 2024. 

“The main beneficiaries from this tourism recovery in Singapore were shops and F&B  establishments along Orchard Road and the CBD,” Mr Singh said.

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