SA hotels outperformed world markets in 2003

DESPITE the many challenges of 2003, the South African hotel sector’s occupancy of 68% outperformed all the key global regions in the world including the US, Europe , the Middle East and Asia. This was one of the findings of a presentation hosted yesterday by the md of Southern Sun, Helder Pereira and Rob O’Hanlon, partner in the travel, tourism and leisure practice at Deloitte & Touche. Commenting on the debate over whether South Africa had become too expensive, due to the appreciation of the rand, Pereira said: “International tourism is an export industry. Rand volatility contributes to misleading perceptions over prices, which have shown only gradual increases over a period of time in line with incoming market inflation rises. “SA needs to maintain its positioning as a value for money destination and should not be tempted to over react to competitor activity as a short term strategy. This country also has a large variety of good hotel products, ranging from budget to luxury, which is essential to ensure international market competitiveness.” Statistics contained in the hotel industry benchmark survey conducted by Deloitte & Touche showed that occupancy levels at three-star hotels in 2003 grew by 3,3% and by 1,3% at four-star hotels, while five-star hotels saw a drop of 3,8% in occupancies. Pereira stressed that the industry as a whole should start talking up ‘value’ rather than sending mixed views on pricing which was not always accurate. He also said that the current price freezing trend was unsustainable in the long term. (Miguel de Sousa)