Singapore hotels’ average room rate rises in February as tourist arrivals inch higher

SINGAPORE hotels’ average room rate (ARR) gained month on month in February, amid an increase in international visitor arrivals, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) data showed on Tuesday (Apr 2).

ARR in February climbed to S$298.47, up 6.7 per cent from the preceding month’s S$279.78. On the year, it was up 9 per cent. Other indicators – overall hotel room revenue, revenue per available room (RevPAR) and average occupancy rate – also registered increases in the second month of 2024.

These came as tourist arrivals edged up to 1,436,571, from January’s 1,436,411. China overtook Indonesia to become the top source of visitors in February, while India dropped out of the top five.

“The improvements in tourist arrivals and hotel performance were reflective of seasonal effects due to the Chinese New Year, and also the implementation of the Singapore-China mutual 30-day visa-free scheme,” said Wong Xian Yang, head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia at Cushman & Wakefield.

Singapore hotels’ overall room revenue in February grew to S$453.8 million, up 7.3 per cent from January’s S$423.1 million and up 29.8 per cent from the year-ago period. Also higher than the previous month was RevPAR, rising 14.2 per cent to S$247.70 from S$216.98. Year on year, RevPAR was up 7.9 per cent.

At 83 per cent, February’s average occupancy rate grew from January’s 77.6 per cent. This was marginally lower than the year-ago occupancy rate, though it matches the pre-pandemic rate of 83 per cent in January 2020.

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Across hotel categories, rates grew month on month. ARR increased to S$679.37 in the luxury segment, S$345.90 in the upscale segment, S$218.13 in the mid-tier segment, and S$144.22 in the economy segment.

Year to date, Singapore’s ARR was up 5.9 per cent year on year to S$289.15. Overall room revenue, at S$876.83 million, grew 31.3 per cent. RevPAR increased 10.2 per cent to S$231.86, and average occupancy rate ticked up 3.2 per cent to 80.2 per cent.

The improved hotel performances came as the Republic’s tourist arrivals recorded growth month on month.

Tourist arrivals from China rose 55 per cent to 326,967, from 211,194 in January.

This jump in tourist arrivals surprised on the upside, and is about 96 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, against the corresponding month in 2019, said Wong.

But he added: “Given China’s economic slowdown and increasing regional competition for tourist dollars, it remains unclear if Chinese visitor levels will sustain at current levels, though we anticipate that China should regain its position as Singapore’s top source for visitor arrivals in 2024.”

Indonesia was the second-highest origin country of visitors to Singapore in February with 190,757 travellers, dropping from 268,972 in the preceding month.

In February, Malaysia and Australia swopped places in the ranking of source countries, compared with January. Malaysia was the third-largest source of visitors to Singapore in February, with 100,200 tourists arriving from the country, marking an increase from 93,387. Australia was the source of 79,572 visitors in the second month of this year, down from 124,144 in January.

Entering the ranks of the top five source countries for the first time since March 2020, the UK was the origin country of 69,918 tourists to Singapore in February. There were 60,952 visitors from the UK in January. India, which was the fifth-largest source of visitors in January, took seventh place in February.

Singapore’s tourism recovery might be “quicker than anticipated”, said Wong, noting the “better-than-expected start” for arrivals in 2024. STB previously said it expects 15 million to 16 million international visitors to Singapore this year.