SINGAPORE OVERTAKES BANGKOK IN POPULARITY: GTA
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One of the largest inbound operators to Singapore, global hospitality and leisure distributor GTA has bucked a downward trend in the destination’s tourism industry in the first half of the year, which has resulted in significant softening in hotel occupancy and average daily rates compared to 2013. With international visitor arrivals falling by 2.8 per cent in the first half of 2014, the softening is being attributed to a combination of weakening arrivals from China, lower demand for corporate travel, and a surplus of supply leading to greater price competition.
In contrast, the number of room nights in Singapore booked with GTA by high street and online travel agents and tour operators around the world rose by 35 per cent in the first six months of 2014. The number of room nights booked through GTA’s XML has doubled in that time. GTA’s business has been so successful in the first half of the year; Singapore has overtaken Bangkok to become Asia’s most popular destination and – contrary to the wider trend – room nights booked by Chinese travellers has increased 45 per cent. Most travellers are coming from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, UAE and the UK; all important markets for destination Singapore as highlighted by Singapore Tourism Board.
Daryl Lee, GTA’s Vice-President of Sales for Asia, GTA said, “This is great news for Singapore and the hotels that are benefiting from our ability to reach practically every part of the planet. Every day, millions of people turn to online and high street travel agents and tour operators to book accommodation. And every day behind the scenes, GTA powers global travel with XML and HTML solutions to help those travel businesses with all they need. This global presence in mature and emerging source markets, the expertise and experience of our people and the reliable performance of our technology mean hotels trust us to bring them to market and help them profit.”
Maria Gail Taylor, Regional Vice President of Revenue, Meritus Hotels & Resorts, stated, “Our strategic alliance with GTA has led to a 78 per cent increase in the number of room nights booked at the Mandarin Orchard, helping us buck the general trend in Singapore right now. GTA’s global network enables us to easily reach the greatest number of customers in core and newer markets. Their global data and business intelligence, coupled with their understanding of our business means our partnership is profitable as well.”
Strong success for GTA and its hotel partners in the first half of 2014 follows similar growth in 2013 when room nights booked in Singapore increased by 50 per cent. Last year, the destination’s most important Asian source markets last year were South Korea – which saw the most significant year on year growth and more than trebled the number of room nights sold in 2013 – and Indonesia (up 68 per cent). With GTA, the destination saw room nights from its third most popular source market, Hong Kong, increase by 76 per cent last year; the culmination of an average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31 per cent over the last three years.