Countries across the world have seen various levels of impact over the last seven months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so where exactly do Pacific countries stand now? We look at how performance has changed over the course of the pandemic.

Australia
Australia experienced its lowest occupancy and RevPAR levels in April, 19.8% and AUD23.59, respectively. ADR, on the other hand, was at its lowest a month later in May at AUD118.36. Performance has since grown in the country as restrictions have ultimately eased. The country saw its highest performance levels in July: occupancy (41.5%), ADR (AUD143.96) and RevPAR (AUD59.72). In August, however, performance dropped slightly month over month after a tightening on restrictions but remained relatively close to July levels.

When looking at the week ending 27 September, Australia showed signs of improvement—occupancy was 46.4% and ADR was at AUD154.67, resulting in a RevPAR level of AUD71.74.

The country has seen weekend peaks and lifts during the school holiday period, and STR’s Forward STAR data shows a similar pattern when looking at the next 12 months. Occupancy-on-the-books data shows that Regional Australia is ahead of the capital cities, as leisure travelers are flocking towards regional areas for quick weekend trips while business demand is relatively nonexistent in the high populous areas.

Fiji
Fiji saw monthly occupancy as low as 11.5% in April, while ADR fell to a low point of FJD106.64 during June and RevPAR reached a low of FJD12.94 in May. Fiji is reliant on international travel particularly from Australia and New Zealand. Citizens cannot travel overseas, and without significant demand, a high number of properties remain closed.

Guam
Guam’s performance has shown mostly steady improvement over the last few months. August levels were up from June and July, reaching an occupancy of 20.8%. After an initial surge in occupancy at the height of the pandemic, which included accommodation for American defense forces, demand is limited at present as its two main source markets of Japan and South Korea require their citizens to serve a quarantine period upon return.

New Zealand
Performance in New Zealand was relatively similar to patterns seen in Australia. The country saw its lowest occupancy (24.1%) and RevPAR (NZD38.72) levels in April, while ADR reached a pandemic low point in June (NZD155.88). The highest levels since March were seen in July: occupancy (53.9%), ADR (NZD173.91) and RevPAR (NZD93.73).

New Zealand is a standout among countries around the world, as it has showed one of the earliest signs of recovery.

For the week ending 27 September, occupancy reached 57.7%–the third consecutive week occupancy has been above 50%. Weekly ADR and RevPAR have also improved, with ADR declining only slightly year over year for the same time period (-2.6% to NZD173.71), while RevPAR was at NZD100.18.

Over the next 12 months, we can expect to see these countries with varying levels of performance– weekend peaks tied to leisure travel and short-term factors such as holidays also driving higher results.

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