Canberra Hotels Record Double Digit Growth

Canberra's hotel market has much to celebrate today with news that Australia's capital has the highest overall revenue per available room (RevPAR) of any city.

In perhaps a more surprising announcement, Canberra was named the Lonely Planet's third best city to visit in the world -- the highest ever listing of an Australian city in the index.

The capital features in Lonely Planet's "Best in Travel 2018" list.

According to CBRE’s Australia Hotels Marketview, Canberra’s RevPAR rose to the double digit growth of 11.8 per cent -- recording the largest increase in RevPAR of any market.

RevPAR grew 13.3 per cent to $135 off the back of a 5.9 per cent increase in occupancy to 77.2 per cent and a seven per cent increase in average daily rate (ADR) to $174.

These results come thanks to a 25 per cent increase in domestic tourists overnighting in hotels.

Cairns followed closely as a top performer in the hotel sector, growing in occupancy to 84.3 per cent. The city’s average daily rate grew 8 per cent to $148 per night which resulted in RevPAR posting an increase of 9.6 per cent to $125.

"Cairns hasn’t seen a new hotel in almost 20 years but developers are now seeking to take advantage of the city’s recent strength,” the report said.

Overall, CBRE reported that Australia’s entire hotel market increased in occupancy rates, ADR and RevPAR.

Occupancy levels rose 0.5 per cent compared to September 2016, reaching 75.8 per cent, whilst ADR increased 1.5 per cent to $186.

International visitor arrivals reached a record high of 7.9 million, which was a 9 per cent increase on the 2016 figures. International tourism spending also increased 9 per cent to $27.9 billion.

Domestic overnight trips were up 5 per cent to 93.7 million, with their spending up 7 per cent to $62.5 billion.