S’pore hotel survey by Chch office

Press, 16 December 1985, Page 32

S’pore hotel survey by Chch office

The Christchurch office of the national chartered accounting firm, Arthur Young, has produced the first business survey of the Singapore hotel indust-

ry. The Singapore Hotel Association commissioned the survey from the Christchurch office. Arthur Young, has produced similar reports of the New Zealand hotel industry for four years. The head of Arthur Young’s tourism services division, Mr Murray Compton, says it is the experience with the New Zealand surveys which helped his firm win the overseas work. In a forword to the review, the Singapore Hotel Association’s president, Mr Sonnie Lien, said the survey was launched to set up a databank that would provide the industry with the latest infortnation on its performance, profitability, and productivity on an annual basis.

A total of 28 hotels contributed to the first survey and

Mr Lien said he hoped the response would be even better in future.

The statistical analysis and interpretation of the data from the questionnaires was carried out in the Christchurch office, and resulted in a 24-page report. The survey found that the number of available hotel rooms in Singapore would grow 16 per cent in 1985 and 36 per cent in 1986. But, based on the existing industry structure and tourist arrival rates, average achieved occupancy rates could fall below 50 per cent by the end of 1987, a level at which the industry’s is revenue might not cover trading costs “The challenge in the Singapore market over the period is to respond to those forecasted conditions,” the report said. Suggested remedies were to raise tourist arrivals through the improvement of attractions and to aggressively market hotel services to established or untapped market segments.