“The return of China tourists was a catalyst that played out as expected in 2024, to reclaim its 2019 inbound market share of 19% ytd. We believe that going into 2025, Singapore hotels are near the tail end of pandemic recovery with a more modest RevPAR outlook in 2025 at 2%-3% on our expectations,” they add.
DBS Group Research has named CapitaLand Ascott Trust (SGX:HMN
) (CLAS) as its top pick for Singapore hotel REITs amid a softer operating environment for growth due to its diversified global portfolio.
Analysts Geraldine Wong and Derek Tan point out that Singapore had a good year for tourism in 2024, with visa-free arrangements with Chain and Taylor Swift Concerts. This also makes for a high base for visitorship and hotel revenue per available room (RevPAR) in 2025, which will be an uphill battle for hoteliers to deliver growth.
