Local hotel occupancy rate rises as Malaysians fulfil pent-up travel demand

Many Malaysians have taken the opportunity to explore the country now that travel is allowed again. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star

Pent-up demand for travel among Malaysians has led to an increase in local hotel occupancy rate during the recent holidays, according to a hospitality chain company.

Oyo Malaysia reported that occupancy rate across its properties in the country increased by 22% on average during the Labour Day and Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays. East Coast states in the peninsular saw the biggest jump, with occupancy rate up by 40%.

Meanwhile, the five most popular locations during the recent festive period was Batu Ferringhi (Penang), Kuala Selangor (Selangor), Tumpat (Kelantan), Kuala Nerang (Kedah) and Masjid Tanah (Melaka).

“The rise in occupancy is largely due to pent-up demand, a result of the stay-at-home policies implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus,” said Oyo Hotels country head (Malaysia & Singapore) Tan Ming Luk.

In a statement, Tan added that holidaymakers took advantage of the recent week-long school holidays to visit popular tourist destinations.

“More than 80% of our guests are domestic travellers, whereby a vast majority are either Malaysians returning home for Hari Raya or visiting popular tourist destinations throughout the country. Popular locations include Kota Baru, Besut, Temerloh, Jeli and Kuala Terengganu.

“North (Perak to Perlis) came in second, with occupancy increased by 35%. South was the third best performing region with occupancy increasing by 34%. Muar, Tangkak, Batu Pahat, Pulai and Melaka are some of the areas with the highest concentration. Meanwhile, Sabah’s occupancy increase was marginal but Sarawak’s occupancy increased by 30%,” he said.

The past two years of restrictions have also pushed travellers to go for hotels with lower occupancy.

“We have also noticed that travel patterns in Malaysia mirror trends observed in other countries, where smaller hotels are the choice of many holidaymakers and hometowners rather than high occupancy hotels,” Tan explained.

He added that the pandemic also shifted consumer behaviours while booking travel. These include preferences for platforms that enable social distancing, local travel, flexibility, faster booking and improved customer experiences.

“The next wave of growth will be driven by tech advances in the travel and hospitality space. Increased preference towards domestic travel, staycations and flexibility for consumers,” he said.