Performance update on Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines

Undoubtedly, islands in Southeast Asia are popular destinations in the region’s tourist trail. However, those destinations have a long way to go in recovery from the global pandemic. For now, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are showing a similar trend to most of the world with regional markets outperforming the large cities.

Key cities

Manila’s COVID-19 lockdown, the longest-running in the world, started on 15 March, but it was not until June when the market hit its occupancy floor (26.7%). From that point, however, Manila’s occupancy improved to 42.4% in August, then fell back slightly to 40.0% in September.

Manila saw a higher occupancy level in August compared to Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta thanks in part to health workers, Filipino repatriates, and some business process outsourcing (BPO) employees that required halfway houses. Occupancy has remained lower in Kuala Lumpur (36.5% in September) and Jakarta (29.7%).

Regional markets

Demand has grown consistently since June in Malaysia Provincial and Indonesia Provincial due to strong domestic demand. In September, these STR-defined markets posted 38.1% and 41.9% occupancy levels, respectively—the highest level since March in Indonesia and February in Malaysia.

For comparison, Philippines Provincial saw occupancy fall back to 16.7% due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, which resulted in increased restrictions in August. In September, however, the market saw a boost in occupancy (26.5%).

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