Regional hotels cash in on boom in Far Eastern visitors
Strong growth in hotel demand from the Far East continues to buoy the UK market with some regional cities experiencing growth rates more than double that of the capital.
Latest data from Expedia shows cities such as Liverpool are enjoying a boom, with demand for luxury hotels up more than 50% year on year. Demand in Edinburgh rose almost 40% and in Birmingham climbed 30%. Across Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and the East and West Midlands, demand increased by 20%-25%, according to the online travel agent (OTA). Even in London, where demand is consistently high, luxury stays from Far East visitors was almost 20% higher than the first quarter of 2015.
The findings follow Expedia's Q4 2015 data that showed triple digit demand growth from the Far East across all hotel segments. That data suggested visitors from Malaysia, Thailand and Japan, were leading the charge.
Its latest numbers show travellers from Hong Kong (up more than 70%) are driving the increase of luxury hotel stays. Demand for four and five star hotels from South Koreans was up more than 50%, demand from Singapore around 40%, higher end travellers from China and Japan rose by 20%.
Expedia said its data also showed average daily rate (ADR) for luxury hotel rooms across the UK stood at £120, while budget ADR was around £60. In London, ADR for luxury hotels was around £140 per night in the first three months of this year.
On average, visitors are booking luxury hotels much earlier (betwee 20-25 days ahead) versus nine days for budget stays.
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