After a predictably tough 12 months in which the fallout from the financial crisis caused a slump in both business and leisure travel, the local hospitality sector can hardly believe how quickly things have turned around.
Average occupancy is back to the levels of mid-2008, room rates are nudging towards their pre-crisis highs, and new properties are coming on stream, all of which is encouraging optimistic forecasts and the creation of new jobs.
Assessing figures for this year's first quarter, Felix Bieger, chairman of the Hong Kong Hotels Association (HKHA), has no hesitation in pronouncing them very good.
Performance is not simply ahead of last year, which is to be expected, but even matching the pace of 2008.
A quick comparison shows the overall occupancy rate for January and February this year hit 82 per cent (data for March is still being finalised), putting it ahead of the 81.5 per cent for the same period in 2008 and the 76 per cent of early last year.
With perhaps a hint of understatement, Bieger's forecast is that the next few months will be 'not bad'. The Shanghai Expo is likely to bring more people through Hong Kong and, with the global economy stabilising, everything points to a continued upswing in tourist and business arrivals.
'We can look forward to a fairly buoyant market,' he says. 'But still only 56 per cent of arrivals stay overnight. We hope that will change because [a few per cent more] sleeping in hotels could make quite a difference.'
