The nation’s hotels last quarter saw their revenues fall 32.82 percent year-on-year to NT$10.28 billion (US$343.58 million), while occupancy rates plunged from 66.36 percent to 37.19 percent, according to Tourism Bureau data.
The figures might further worsen this quarter if the COVID-19 pandemic persists and governments continue to restrict international travel. Along with travel agencies and airlines, hotels have borne the brunt of the pandemic as nations around the world shut their borders and ban social gatherings to contain the virus.
Guest visits totaled 1.9 million from January to March, a decline of nearly 40 percent, or 1.24 million visits, from the same period last year at 3.15 million, the bureau said.
Foreign travelers accounted for more than 1 million visit losses, while locals made up the remaining decline, the data showed.
Hotels with a heavy reliance on international business travelers are feeling the pinch more sharply than resort properties in tourist spots outside of Taipei.
Occupancy rates at Caesar Park Taipei (台北凱撒飯店) and Cosmos Taipei (台北天成大飯店) near Taipei Railway Station and the Taipei Garden Hotel (台北花園大酒店) near the Ximen MRT Station tumbled to 30 to 50 percent, from more than 90 percent prior to the outbreak, the bureau said, adding that the figures sank to single digits for lesser-known properties.
Occupancy rates in Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Hualien all fell below 50 percent, bureau data showed.
A few resort hotels, such as Caesar Park Kenting (墾丁凱撒大飯店) in Pingtung County and Hotel Royal Chihpen (知本老爺大酒店) in Taitung County, kept occupancy rates above 80 percent, thanks to their less populous locations with scenic views, the data showed.
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