In an interview on the sidelines of the recent Philippine Tourism and Hotel Investment Summit 2024, STR Senior Director for Asia Pacific Jesper Palmqvist told the BusinessMirror that while average daily rates among Cebu hotels have almost reverted to prepandemic rates at about P7,500 per night, or “just 2.4 percent behind 2019, we’re 25-percent below in occupancy,” or 56 percent, as of year-to-date May 2024. In 2019, occupancy rate in Cebu hotels were around 75 percent, STR data showed.
For Philippine hotels in general, Palmqvist said as of YTD May 2024, “Occupancy growth is now more moderate and expected to rise 2-3 percent year-on-year. Rates are quite stagnant outside luxury hotels, where it’s 19 percent ahead of 2019 levels.
But considering the sluggish international arrivals in Cebu, he said, “I doubt that government forecast of 7.7 million arrivals this year. I think it will be lower.” DOT data showed that 941,406 tourists landed on Mactan-Cebu International Airport in 2023. This was 33 percent less than the 1.4 million who visited Cebu in 2019.Meanwhile, he noted that Makati City is one of the few areas in the Philippines were ADR is higher than in 2019, which is mostly luxury hotels.