Source: The Bench
Source: The Bench

Ahead of the inaugural Asia Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (AHTIC), taking place in Colombo at the end of this month, a study by STR reveals that Sri Lanka's hotel market recorded strong overall performance growth through September 2016, driven by a sharp increase in average daily rate (ADR).

In year-over-year comparisons with the first nine months of 2015, Sri Lanka hotels reported a 15.0% increase in ADR to LKR15,806.02. Meanwhile, occupancy was relatively flat at 66.4%. As a result, revenue per available room (RevPAR) jumped 14.9% to LKR10,495.60.

— Source: The Bench— Source: The Bench
— Source: The Bench

As highlighted in Sri Lanka Tourism's 2016 Strategic Marketing Plan, the country has a target of 2.2 million visitors for the total year, which would be a 26% increase compared with 2015. Tourism statistics show that the country welcomed 1.5 million visitors as of September, a 14.6% increase compared with the same nine months last year.

Boosted by the government's efforts to increase international arrivals, Sri Lanka's hotel demand (rooms sold) increased 4.0% as of September. Supply, however, also increased at a rate of 4.0%, and STR expects that supply will continue rising over the next two years with more than 4,300 rooms currently in Sri Lanka's pipeline.

STR analysts attribute Sri Lanka's recent boost in ADR to a changing hotel landscape in the market driven by recent openings of new Luxury properties. Additionally, more than 3,600 of the 4,300 rooms in Sri Lanka's pipeline fall in the Luxury and Upscale categories, which should further lift the country's ADR as more of the hotel rooms available will be sold at higher prices.

— Source: The Bench— Source: The Bench
— Source: The Bench

Jesper Palmqvist, STR's Area Director Asia Pacific, said: "The market for hotel accommodation in Sri Lanka is decidedly healthy, with double-dight growth in occupancy for the past three years and this year, we have seen an uplift in average daily rates too." At AHTIC, which takes place, November 27 – 29, 2016, at the Hilton Colombo, Palmqvist will give a detailed presentation on the demand for hotel accommodation across the region.

For the full programme visit www.asia-conference.com.

About AHTIC
Organiser: Bench Events, Co-organiser and Founder Sponsor: Sri Lanka Tourism Club, Host Partners: Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs of Sri Lanka; Presidential Secretariat Sri Lanka; BOI Sri Lanka; Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Urban Development Authority Sri Lanka, Strategic Partner: JLL, Platinum Sponsor: JA Resorts & Hotels, Gold Sponsor: C G Hotels & Resorts; Dusit International and Nippon Paint Lanka Ltd, Official Airline Partner: SriLankan Airlines, Supporters: The Centre of Asia Hotel Forum and Pacific Asia Travel Association, Programme endorsed by: The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka.

About STR
STR provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium, global data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 15 countries with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and an international headquarters in London, England.

As of 1 March 2016, all references to STR data and analysis should cite "STR" as the source. Please refrain from citing "STR, Inc." "Smith Travel Research" or "STR Global" in sourcing as those names no longer fits within the updated STR brand.

For more information, please visit www.str.com.

About Sri Lanka Tourism Club
Sri Lanka Tourism Club's (SLTC) objective is to brand Sri Lanka as an outstanding tourist destination and aim to promote its unique life style, nature, wonders, attractions, heritage and cultures to develop both domestic and international tourism and enhance Sri Lanka's share of the market for international meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions. Its ultimate objective is to increase the number of foreign tourists to Sri Lanka, extend the average length of their stay and finally to increase the national tourism revenue.

About The Bench

The Bench is a leading organiser behind some of the most influential investment event brands across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. The company is renowned for guiding businesses towards investments, connections and insights that shape the future of their industries. Known for crafting events with significant economic impact since 1996, The Bench's event participants include government leaders, tourism ministries, global travel and tourism associations, leading hospitality brands, hotel owners and investors, top restaurant groups, airlines and aviation authorities, destination developers, asset managers, financial groups, and consultants. These stakeholders participate to achieve their specific goals, leveraging platforms such as AHIC, now known as FHS World, FHS Saudi Arabia, AHIF, IDEEA, and AviaDev. The Bench's events serve as pivotal venues for industry leaders to exhibit their brands, establish themselves as thought leaders or innovators, and forge connections with valuable opportunities and insights.

Learn more on thebench.com

About FHS Saudi Arabia

Dates: 29 April – 1 May 2024

Location: Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Sponsors: Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh and Al Khozama Management Holdings as Host Sponsors; Ministry of Tourism Saudi Arabia as Strategic Partner; Taiba Investments as Founding Partner; Tourism Development Fund as Enablement Partner; Baheej, Boutique Group, Hilton, Kerten Hospitality, KAFD, NEOM, Radisson Hotel Group, Red Sea Global, Rua Al Madinah Holding and Saudi Icon Company as Platinum Sponsors; Saudi Tourism Investment Company (ASFAR), Accor, Club Med, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Jabal Omar Development Company, Marriott International, Millennium Hotels and Resorts and Rotana as Emerald Sponsors; Aleph Hospitality; ARC, Al Futtaim Engineering & Technologies, Bits Arabia, CBRE, Colliers; Compass Project Consulting, Dan Company, DAR Engineering, Daniel Ost, Domus Managed Housing, ELAF, IHCL, Insignia, JLL, JT & Partners, Kohler, Knight Frank, LEVA, Louvre Hotels Group, Minor Hotels, QUO, Rove Hotels, Shaza Hotels, Tashyid Urban Development, The Ascott Limited, Valor Hospitality Partners, Whitewater and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts as Gold Sponsors; Conran Design Group, H World International, HVS, HMH Hospitality Management Holding, Keane, STR, TV5 Monde, Time Hotels, Voltere by egis and Wisefields as Silver Sponsors; Restroworks and TGP International as GRIF Platinum Sponsors; Soho Hospitality as GRIF Gold Sponsor; Forsite Creative as GRIF Data Partner; Livit as GRIF Culinary & Concept Tour Partner; Melitta Professional as GRIF Coffee Sponsor, and HAMA, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance and UN Tourism as Supporters.

David Tarsh
+44 (0) 20 7602 5262
The Bench