hotels.com | About | News Room | Contact | HPI Archive 
Follow Hotels.com
Chapter 5: Top Asian, Caribbean and Latin American Destinations
The Central Business District of Singapore, Japan
The skyline of Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Great Sphinx and Pyramid of Menkaure - Giza, Egypt
Elephants walking down a path in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Americans Traveling to Asia: Seeing an Upturn
The first two quarters of 2011 were challenging for Asia tourism as earthquakes and several typhoons shook the region. Despite these factors, Asia is still an up-and-coming region for American travelers and demand is rising as the region saw average prices paid for hotel rooms rise slightly, by 1%.
Hong Kong ranked as the eighth most visited international city by Americans in 2011 while other Asian cities including Bangkok, Shanghai, Beijing, Dubai and Singapore ranked in the top 25 most visited international destinations by Americans.
While New York’s wildly successful Broadway revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific closed its curtains in August 2010, it has likely inspired travel to French Polynesia ever since. One of the most expensive countries to visit in Asia, French Polynesia boasts three of the top five most expensive resort areas to find a hotel in the world, with Bora Bora again taking top honors with rooms averaging $802 a night, demonstrating a 37% year-over-year increase from 2010.
Christchurch, New Zealand’s devastating earthquake caused hotel prices to soar 38% due to the lack of hotel rooms available. International guest bookings dropped in February by 25% and only 10 of 33 hotels are open.
While New York has historically held the legendary title of “the city that never sleeps”, a recent online global survey determined that no city in the world sleeps less than Cairo, the strife-torn capital of Egypt, thereby earning it the title the "world's most 24-hour city.” However, there’s no arguing the Arab Spring and continued regional turmoil had a profound effect on the region’s hotel industry.
Travelers looking for a luxury property can find great deals in Cairo and Beijing, where 5-star properties cost $204 and $206 respectively. Giza, Egypt, famous for the Great Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza saw the largest regional hotel room price drop in the first half of 2011 when prices plummeted 45% over last year. Amman, Jordan also saw room rates drop 10%. Doha, Qatar experienced a 30% decrease in room rates, however not due to civil unrest, but likely because the market has been saturated with new hotel properties.
Backpackers and travelers looking for deals should explore Asia’s lesser known hot spots including Hoi An, Vietnam, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh and Chiang Mai, Thailand, before prices for hotel rooms in these emerging destinations skyrocket.
 |
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Expensive
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Least Expensive
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Price Decrease
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Price Increase
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
