PETALING JAYA: While hotel bookings have yet to pick up in some states, popular tourist spots are seeing near-full occupancy during the Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri period.
Malaysian Association of Hotels vice-president Cs Lim said some locations are experiencing peak demand, with Pantai Cenang and Kuah Town in Langkawi surpassing 80% and 60% occupancy, respectively.
On the East Coast, Terengganu is hitting 70% occupancy, with Kelantan exceeding 60%.
He attributed the strong demand to the recently announced additional school holiday on March 18, which allowed families to extend their festive travel.
Despite lower room prices compared to last year, Penang and Pahang are at about 50% occupancy, while Perak hotels reported a take-up rate of between 50% and 70%, with last-minute bookings expected.
Demand for rooms in the Klang Valley, Port Dickson, Melaka and Sabah, Lim said, has been moderate, with Negri Sembilan slowly picking up to about 70% occupancy for the Hari Raya period.
Sabah, however, is facing its lowest occupancy in 20 years, with rooms only half full.
Lim said flight cancellations, particularly from Korea, and low online bookings from China contributed to the decline.
He, however, said hotel operators are optimistic that last-minute bookings will see a rise in occupancy rates, with popular destinations expected to see continued growth in the coming weeks.
“Buka puasa reservations, however, were lower this year, particularly in the Klang Valley, Johor Baru and Penang.
“This could be due to Ramadan falling just after the long Chinese New Year holidays, combined with reduced spending power among middle-income travellers,” he said.
Malaysia Budget & Business Hotel Association president Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel said its members are seeing healthy bookings for Hari Raya, with occupancy reaching around 85% in popular destinations.
But unlike previous years, budget hotels in rural areas and tourist hotspots like Melaka, Johor and Penang are filling up, while urban areas like Kuala Lumpur have gotten less busy, he said.
He, however, said the surge may not translate into high profits, as many customers now book online at discounted rates, reducing earnings for hotel operators.
Also, many travellers now prefer to rent short-term accommodation, such as condominiums, before moving to a budget hotel, “so we rarely experience full occupancy for extended periods”.
