Throughout the month of December 2005, the lenient weather at low and high altitude allowed hoteliers to start the season as of mid-December. The French mountains have known good snow fall levels, earlier than in 2004. Mountain hotels in France (Alps/ Pyrenees) have seen their revenue per available room (RevPAR) increase by 3,8% due to a rise of 2,6 points in their occupancy levels.
MADRID | In 2005 international tourism sustained the sharp upturn that began in 2004 in spite of the various tragic events it had to contend. According to preliminary results presented today by the United Nations specialized agency, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) the number of international tourist arrivals recorded worldwide grew by 5.5% and exceeded 800 million for the first time ever. Although 2005 was certainly a tumultuous year, international tourism has fared amazingly well. Despite various terrorist attacks and natural disasters, such as the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami and an extraordinarily long and strong hurricane season, the recovery, which started in 2004, continued firmly through 2005.
Paris was one of the strongest performing cities in November in the sample of 10 European cities in TRI Hospitality Consulting’s Europe HotStats survey. The French capital put in a double digit increase in room revenue per available room to record an increase of 12.8 per cent for November compared to the same month last year.
December 26, 2004... THE day that will be remembered by all in Asia. It was also that same day in history that brought the international tourism community together to begin the process of rebuilding and reconstructing the tsunami-affected destinations, including Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Many livelihoods and businesses were directly affected by the Boxing Day incident, with millions suffering great financial and personal loss. Reconstruction and revival work began almost immediately, with assistance and support being provided from all round the world. One year on from the Indian Ocean Tsunami, recovery is well underway.
New research from PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that the timeshare industry is changing with increased interest from branded hotel groups, a greater focus on mixed-use developments and higher quality, more regulated products stimulating fresh interest from consumers. While analysts and practitioners broadly agree that the old-style, mass market timeshare product is static, demand for higher-quality, branded products and new styles of timeshare such as fractional ownership and condo hotels is strong.
Growth rates for the U.S. online leisure/unmanaged business travel market will continue to dip in 2005, to 26% compared to 29% in 2004 and nearly 40% in 2003. The market remains healthy, however, fueled by suppliers' success at moving offline direct sales to their Web sites. Online bookings are projected to surpass US$65.4 billion in 2005, representing nearly 30% of the entire U.S. travel market, according to the recently released PhoCusWright's Online Travel Overview Fifth Edition.
The performance results of hotel establishments which participate in the daily monitoring programme carried out by MKG Consulting, reveal a good resistance by French hotels which seem to be little affected by the riots. The riots in the suburbs have had a limited impact on the hotel activity over the first 15 days of November, including the outskirts of big cities, which one would have thought to be most affected by urban violence.
What is the state of the travel & tourism industry today? What are the key economic, social and geo-political drivers of change? What are the current trends in business and leisure travel across the world? How is this affecting hotels and restaurants? Mr. Shifflet is a Marketing Psychologist with over 30 years' experience as a counselor in marketing and planning, with specialization in applied market research. Presentaion was was made at IH/M&RS Hospitality Leadership Forum, New York, November 2005.
According to a recent Maritz Poll®, rising travel costs won’t be a deterrent to family holiday gatherings this year. U.S. highways and airways will be just as congested this holiday season, as Americans still plan to travel regardless of gas prices being 33 cents higher than last year.
London’s top-end hotels (over £200 per night) out-performed all other priced segments of the London hotel market last month, with revenue per available room (RevPar) up by 6% in September compared with 2004 figures, according to the HotelBenchmark Survey by Deloitte.
American Express Business Travel, the world’s largest travel management company, released today its 2006 Global Business Travel Forecast that indicates strong price increases in the global business travel industry and suggests a more challenging corporate travel buying market in the year ahead. The comprehensive analysis forecasts both airfare and hotel trends as well as published price predictions for the coming year regionally and globally. The 2006 Global Business Travel Forecast is made available annually to American Express Business Travel clients and is generated by American Express Consulting and eCLIPSE Advisors, a unit of American Express Business Travel.
The Australian hotel market seems to be going from strength to strength. Latest figures from the HotelBenchmark™ Survey by Deloitte show that Australian hotels have posted the strongest growth for the first nine months of any year, well with the exception of the Olympic year that is. And, with revenue per available room (revPAR) at AUS$116, this is in fact only AUS$2 behind highs achieved in 2000.
Hotel chains are pushing for substantial rate increases and are reducing the number of corporate deals they are offering as they negotiate with buyers for 2006 contracts. Bjorn Hanson, head of the hospitality and leisure practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers last week said that while average daily rates overall are expected to increase on average by 4.7 percent next year, corporate customers, particularly those favoring higher-tier hotels, will be at the mercy of even greater increases in the 5 percent to 5.5 percent range. Although some hoteliers and industry watchers forecast double-digit percentage increases in certain markets, most in the industry agreed that negotiated rates will be greater for 2006.
A current rumour in tourism circles suggests that France has become an expensive destination, particularly because of the sustained growth of hotel rates. Often under aim, corporate operated chains would bear a major responsibility for this situation. Since 1999, the average daily rates of corporate operated chains, across all categories, rose faster than inflation (2.7% versus 2.0% on an annual average). But while it is true that hotel rates have risen more sharply in recent years than price levels in general, the statement deserves to be qualified.
A hallmark of a modern, affluent economy is the rise of consumer spending on non-essential services including tourism. In 2003, 20.2m Chinese left the country to travel abroad, up from 8.4m in 1998. Industry experts expect this number to rise substantially in the next few years due to increased spending power, a possible revaluation of the Chinese currency and relaxed government rules concerning travel abroad.
New Caledonia is the third largest island in the South Pacific, behind New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, located approximately 1,500 kilometres east of Australia and 2,200 kilometres north of New Zealand. The island’s reputation as a tourism destination resides in the unique blend of Melanesian and French cultures amid the beauty of the world’s second largest lagoon.
Highlights of Zuji’s Online Travel Trends Report for Quarter 2, 2005 (April – June) include the following findings: Bangkok remains the favourite holiday destination spot for Asian travelers in the last quarter of 2005; Travelers seem to be spending more time in one destination, e.g. London, versus touring England when on holiday there; There is a longer lead time for hotel bookings; 44% of hotel bookings in the last quarter were made three weeks in advance compared to 35% in the preceding quarter, Hong Kong leads pack in terms of preference for e-tickets compared to traditional paper tickets: 70% of flight tickets issued by ZUJI in Hong Kong were in electronic format.
German hotel performance was looking good the end of 2004, with revenue per available room (revPAR) up 4.7% - the second highest rate of growth reported by any country in Europe. However, latest results from the HotelBenchmark Survey by Deloitte show that German hoteliers have struggled to maintain growth at the same levels during the first six months of this year, with revPAR up just 1.2%.
The U.S. Department of Commerce today reported new records for U.S. outbound travel in 2004. Last year, 61.8 million U.S. travelers went abroad, surpassing the previous record of 61.3 million set in 2000. It is also the first year of growth for U.S. outbound travel since 2000 and the first year of double-digit growth since 1995.