The fall in tourist arrivals across Asia since the start of 2020 has, not surprisingly, impacted the hotels sector significantly. In Singapore for example, average occupancy rates across its hotels fell from 83.1% in Jan to 51% in Feb, while revenue per available room (RevPar) in Feb was down 40% to S$117.1.

However, there are some short-term relief as returning overseas residents who need to be quarantined, either self or officially mandated, have become an unexpected source of demand. Singapore is expecting to see 200,000 overseas residents return while Hong Kong has recorded 77,000 returning so far. Nonetheless, the lack of tourists, business travel and MICE activities will put downward pressure on the overall hotel sector, but the impact will be lesser on the mid and lower tiered properties.