Willemstad, February 14, 2019 – Looking back at 2018, it’s no secret that our tourism sector has known positive growth, especially when it comes down to hotel performance. This is definitely something that we as the sector have to be very proud of.
The average hotel occupancy in 2018 was 77.8%, which is an increase of 5.1% compared to 2017 and 6.1% compared to 8 years ago. The top 3 months with the highest occupancy in 2018 were: November (85.1%), February (83.1%) and April (81.4%). This could be explained by the various Holidays that took place in those months e.g. our local Carnival, Thanksgiving in the US and Easter.
Furthermore, we can also see an increase in the average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPar). In 2017 the ADR was $144.35, which in 2018 increased to $162.42. This is an increase of $18.07, which is 12.5%. The three months with the highest ADR in 2018 are: January, December and finally February. These are precisely the months known as Curaçao’s ‘high season’. During this period there’s a high demand for our island and for this reason our room rates are generally higher.
In 2018, our revenue per available room (RevPar) was $128.70, which is $23.72 more than in 2017. This is an increase of 22.6%. The months with the highest RevPar are January ($167.08), February ($159.84) and December ($145.11).
For the first quarter of 2019, CHATA forecasts that occupancy will increase in the first quarter of 2019 with 0.8% points. The actual occupancy in the first quarter of 2018 was 76.8% and the forecast for 2019 is 77.6%. The ADR and RevPAR are both forecasted to see an increase in the first quarter of 2019. The actual ADR in the first quarter of 2018 was $180.29 and for 2019 its forecasted to be $190.04. This is an increase of 5.4%.
The forecasted RevPAR in the first quarter of 2019 is $147.55. The actual RevPAR for the first quarter in 2018 was $138.46 which means the RevPAR is forecasted to see a 6.6% increase in the first quarter of 2019.
CHATA is positive that if all stakeholders, public and private continue to work together we can achieve sustained tourism growth and surpass our performance of 2018 in 2019.
