As Malaysians gear up for the upcoming end-of-year holiday season, Hotels.com unveiled local travel trends and insights based on the Hotels.com Hotels Price Index (HPI®) report. The HPI is respected as the definitive report on hotel prices paid around the world and is used as a reference tool by the media, hoteliers, financial analysts, investors, tourism bodies and academics.
As a leading online accommodation booking website, Hotels.com™ publishes the HPI® report twice a year. It is a regular report based on movements in hotel prices in major destinations across the world. The findings of the HPI are based on on bookings made on Hotels.com sites, and prices shown are those actually paid by customers on a per room/per night basis including taxes and fees, rather than advertised rates.
In a media luncheon with local media yesterday, Nelson Allen, Senior Marketing Director, Asia Pacific for the Hotels.com brand said, “As one of the leading destinations in Asia, Malaysia is and has always been a key market for Hotels.com, for both in and out bound travellers.”
For two consecutive years (2014 H1 & 2015 H1), the city of Kuala Lumpur ranked No.1 as the popular destination by inbound travellers from all over the world. From a mix of tourist activities, cultural and heritage diversity to gastronomic offerings, Malaysia has much to offer be it for local or foreign travellers. Other local destinations that are also popular among inbound holidaymakers are Penang, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu and Malacca.
Overall, travellers were paying an average of RM306 per night for hotels in Malaysia in the first half of 2015. Among all travellers, travellers from Switzerland were spending the most (RM 425) on average hotel price paid in Malaysia, followed by Norway (RM 402), United Kingdom (RM 391), and two Asia countries – Hong Kong (RM 381) and South Korea (RM 378).
Top destinations in Malaysia for travellers from overseas (2015 H1)
Ranking Destination
1. Kuala Lumpur
2. Penang
3. Langkawi
4. Kota Kinabalu
5. Malacca
6. Johor Bahru
7. Kuching
8.Tanah Rata
9.Genting Highlands
10. Ipoh
Top spender for Malaysia hotels (2015 H1)
Ranking travellers from average hotel price paid per night (2015 H1)
1. Switzerland -RM 425
2. Norway- RM 402
3. United Kingdom-RM 391
4. Hong Kong- RM 381
5. South Korea-RM 378
The recent softening of the Ringgit clearly has an impact on local destinations. Subsequently, Malaysians are also noticeably getting back to their roots when it comes to planning vacations.
The softening of Ringgit doesn’t necessarily mean a higher cost of travel. The HPI findings shared at the luncheon was a report conducted between January to June 2015, also revealed that there was a steady drop in hotels prices paid by Malaysians in the UAE, France, Macau, as well as Malaysians’ all time favourite – Bangkok, Indonesia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. This could be attributed to more Malaysians using online and mobile applications for their travel planning.
Top destinations for travellers from Malaysia (2015 H1)
Ranking Destination
1. Bangkok
2. Singapore
3. Bali
4. Hong Kong
5. Phuket
6. Melbourne
7. Krabi
8. Seoul
9. Tokyo
10.Taipei
Overseas destinations with the highest percentage decreases of
hotel price paid by travellers from Malaysia (2015 H1)
Ranking destination percentage decreases.(2015 H1)
1. United Arab Emirates -36%
2. France -21%
3. Singapore -18%
4. Indonesia -12%
5. Macau- 12%
6. Thailand-7%
7. Hong Kong -4%
Hotels.com offers a wide range of hotel choices with the best price guaranteed, and has 17million qualified guest reviews. It also has over 85 websites in over 35 languages with a multi-lingual hotlines, for ease of booking an accommodation at any time. For holidaymakers planning an impromptu trip, Hotels.com will always have 20,000 last minute deals up for grab at the very last minute.
For gadget aficionados, Hotels.com app is also available on Apple and Android wearable devices, and gives the user full access to booking details, directions to hotels, plus reminds you about check-in and check-out information.
