The recovery of the Asian hotel industry from the tsunami will face a significant set back…
The recovery of the Asian hotel industry from the tsunami will face a significant set back as a result of the earthquake in Indonesia, according to Marvin Rust, hospitality partner at Deloitte:
Hotel occupancy figures had already plummeted in the period since the tsunami, with Phuket being the worst affected, with a drop in occupancy from 80 percent to 40 percent in the first two months of 2005. However, the figures for February were substantially better than for January pointing towards a rapid recovery in hotel performance for the region before the event.
Deloitte`s HotelBenchmark Survey also shows that areas which were not affected by the tsunami, such as Penang and Bali, also struggled. This is due to tourists` lack of information and understanding as to which holiday destinations were affected. We can expect that the earthquake will have the same result, with tourist destinations beyond Sumatra and Indonesia also suffering as a result of a lack of understanding of the relative risks of travel to the region.
Whilst the hotel industry has shown impressive resilience in the past, with wars on terror and SARS, the latest impact is caused by natural disaster and is therefore likely to have longer lasting affect. There will need to be a concerted effort by both Governments and media to educate the public on where it is safe to travel to encourage people to return, adds Rust.
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