Penang occupancy affected by US, European markets

Pearl of the Orient: The hotels in George Town sold about one million rooms in 2012.

Hotels on Penang island achieved a 65% occupancy rate for 2012, which was more or less the same as in 2011.

The Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) chairman Mary Ann Harris said there was flat growth because of the softer corporate market from Europe and the United States. “The hotels in George Town sold about one million rooms in 2012, compared to 1.013mil in 2011, registering a slight drop of 1.3%, due to the slowdown in the corporate market.

“The hotels on the beach sold 729,334 rooms, registering a slight growth of 3.3% over the 705,929 figure achieved in 2011,” she said. The occupancy rate of city hotels was 66.57% in 2012, compared to 67.86% in 2011. The beach hotels posted an occupancy of 63.95% in 2012, compared to 61.99% in 2011.

The MAH expects a single digit growth in hotel occupancy rates this year, driven by the rise in domestic tourism. Harris said domestic tourist arrivals had been on an upward trend since 2011.

“In 2011, domestic arrivals made up about 45% of the occupancy of the hotels on the island, growing to 50% last year. “We expect domestic arrivals to comprise 60% of the occupancy, as the domestic economy is still relatively healthy, despite the global slowdown,” she added. Harris said the new markets for the hotels in Penang included Iran, China and India.

Packed: Kek Lok Si Temple is another popular spot with tourists.

She added that Penang required at least some 2,000 hotel rooms over the next five years to cater to new tourism products on the island such as malls and convention halls that would generate more tourist arrivals for Penang.

On the performance of Eastin Hotel, Harris, who is also the hotel’s general manager, said Eastin registered an occupancy of 78.3% for 2012, compared to 76.95% in 2011. “Domestic arrivals make up about 34% of our guests.

“The occupancy for the Christmas 2012 and Chinese New Year 2013 period was better respectively than the corresponding period in 2011 and 2012,” she added.

Meanwhile, Hard Rock Hotel in Batu Ferringhi experienced an increased in occupancy in 2012 over 2011. Its sales and marketing director Betty Lim said the occupancy rate for the hotel for the whole of 2012 increased 2% over 2011, as the global economic slowdown did not impact much on tourist arrivals for the hotel.

“There was a slowdown from Europe, but the arrivals from south-east Asia remained steady, especially the arrivals from Hong Kong, which enabled us to register a higher occupancy for the Christmas and the New Year holidays, compared to the previous year’s corresponding period. “Some 40% of the guests are from the corporate and meeting, incentives, convention, and exhibition (MICE) segments, while the remainder is from the leisure segment,” she said. Lim said the hotel could expect an occupancy rate of about 70% for 2013, more or less the same as in 2012.

G Hotel in Gurney Drive achieved an occupancy rate of 84% for 2012, which was about the same as in 2011.

Growth: Hard Rock Hotel in Batu Ferringhi experienced an increased in occupancy in 2012 over 2011.

Its public relations executive Angie Chen said there was slowdown from the corporate segment in the second half of 2012. “The MICE market, however, registered an increase. The MICE, the corporate, and medical tourism segments contribute 60% to the hotel’s business,” she said.

Cititel Penang sales and marketing director Michelle Koay said the hotel in Penang Road registered a slight drop of 6% to close at 62% for 2012. Koay said in December 2012, the hotel registered an occupancy of 85%, while during the Chinese New Year, the occupancy was about 75%.

“For the first quarter of 2013, we expect to record an occupancy of 68%, compared to about 75% for the same period in 2012. “The slowdown was largely from the long-stay and corporate segments, where executives cut their stay to shorten the visiting period.

“We expect the hotel’s occupancy rate to improve to 72% this year. The MICE, corporate, and medical tourism markets should contribute more to the hotel’s business this year, growing at about 8% against the leisure market,” she added.

According to Penang Global Tourism, tourist arrivals for 2012 were at 614, 039, compared to 607,340 in 2011. Director Ooi Geok Lin said the top visitors were from Singapore, Indonesia, and China. “We also saw more visits from expatriates staying in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and China,” she said.

-thestar online.