Pan Pacific advances 10 hotel projects as regional travel demand recovers
The Singapore-based group expects its third-quarter recovery to continue into the final quarter, with affluent Asian travellers choosing destinations closer to home.
Pan Pacific Hotels Group is proceeding with 10 construction and major refurbishment projects across Southeast Asia in 2027 as its chief executive reports a recovery in hotel demand. EdgeProp Singapore reported that the programme includes new luxury properties in Bangkok and Phnom Penh.
The projects span Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines. The Singapore-based group owns or manages about 50 hotels globally, comprising more than 14,000 rooms, according to parent company UOL Group.
Chief executive Choe Peng Sum said its Asian hotels had a strong first quarter before the U.S.-Iran war prompted a sharp second-quarter decline, Channel News Asia reported. The conflict interrupted arrivals from the Middle East at its Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Bangkok properties. Occupancy and average room rates rebounded in the third quarter, with the group expecting further improvement in the final quarter.
Choe said higher travel costs and geopolitical uncertainty were encouraging affluent Asian travellers to holiday closer to home. Those taking fewer long-distance trips were not necessarily cutting their hotel and experience budgets, he said, pointing to continued demand for premium services such as club lounges.
He identified Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore as particularly strong markets. Vietnam's resort destinations were benefiting from tourism expansion, while high-tech industries were drawing business visitors. The group's Singapore hotels recorded double-digit growth in the third quarter, which Choe attributed to international events including the Formula 1 Grand Prix and business conferences.
