HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — According to a quarterly forecast report from STR and Tourism Economics, Canada’s hotel industry will report further performance growth through 2018.
“Canada’s hotel industry received a major boost last year from an 11-per-cent increase in inbound travel — the highest for the country since 2002,” says Kobe Akuffo Owoo, research analyst for STR. “With events planned throughout the year to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation, Canada will receive another influx of visitors that will push growth further.”
Canada reported a 5.5-per-cent increase in Revenue per Available Room during the first quarter of 2017. Growth was driven equally by occupancy (up 2.7 per cent) and Average Daily Rate (a 2.7-per-cent increase). For the remainder of the year, STR and Tourism Economics project RevPAR increases of five per cent (Q2), 2.7 per cent (Q3) and 4.2 per cent (Q4).
“Canada has really only seen three periods with significant performance declines during the past 25 years,” Owoo says. “Since the last downturn, demand in the country has largely outgrown supply, which has yielded relatively sustained increases in occupancy and six straight years with RevPAR growth.”
The top-three room-revenue-generating markets in the country are each expected to record RevPAR growth between five and 10 per cent for total-year 2017. Last year, Toronto contributed the highest share of room revenue in the country (11.1 per cent), followed by Vancouver (8.4 per cent) and Montreal (7.3 per cent). During Q1 2017, Montreal posted RevPAR growth of 13.5 per cent, driven primarily by an 8.9-per-cent surge in occupancy. RevPAR growth was lower than forecasted in Toronto (up 6.9 per cent) and Vancouver (up 5.4 per cent).
