GLOBAL travellers will now find accommodation more friendly to their pockets in Singapore – deemed one of the more expensive cities in Asia – given a drop in its hotel prices in recent years, according to the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index (HPI).
Between 2013 and 2014, a nine per cent drop in average room rate (ARR) was recorded in the city, which has experienced a steady decline since 2012. ARR in 2014 was S$239 (US$172), down from S$263 and S$264 in 2013 and 2012 respectively.
Hotels.com regional director, Katherine Cole, said: “The popularity of Singapore as a stopover point makes it highly susceptible to any changes within the region. Demand for hotels here fell last year as travellers sought alternative destinations during the period of Thailand’s Martial Law, and also as Chinese visitor numbers to the country dropped.
“However, we expect to see increased demand for travel to Singapore in 2015, especially as the Chinese and Russian travel markets continue to boom, and as the city-state gears up for its Golden Jubilee and the South-east Asian Games this year.”
HPI also shows the global ARR as having risen three per cent year-on-year in 2014, due to the overall economic recovery and resulting increased travel spending by consumers.
Asia was the only region to experience a fall, while the index rose in North America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
Meanwhile, a stronger Singapore dollar also aided local travellers by lowering prices in 10 out of 15 Asian destinations. Indonesia took the biggest tumble of nine per cent, followed by Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore – all of which fell six per cent.
Only five countries experienced price increases – Japan (five per cent), Macau (five per cent), China (three per cent), the Philippines (two per cent) and Cambodia (one per cent).
Cole said: “The latest findings reinforces Asia’s position as the leader of best-value destinations worldwide for the third year running. This certainly aids in fuelling and catering to the rising demand for luxury-for-less travel.
“Overall, more than 1.1 billion travellers ventured abroad in 2014, up nearly five per cent over the previous year. We expect Asia to continue riding high on Singaporeans’ travel agenda, especially as traditionally hot destinations like Japan and Thailand regain travellers’ trust.”
