Hotels in China continue to fuel revenue per available room (revPAR) growth throughout the Asia Pacific region according to latest hotel performance data from the HotelBenchmark Survey by Deloitte.

During the first eight months of 2005 Chinese hotel markets have witnessed above average revPAR grow at 14.3%. Major commercial markets have fared even better with Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong reporting growth in excess of 20%.

Even in Shanghai where hotel construction is at a fever pitch, revPAR grew 17%.

The robust performance of the Chinese hotel industry is reflected in the latest international visitor arrival data from the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) which reveals China achieved above average growth in visitor arrivals and tourism receipts during the first seven months of the year.

International visitor arrivals increased by around 16% and tourism receipts by over 20%.

The only country where revPAR improvement has surpassed principal Chinese cities is Vietnam where both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh have experienced revPAR growth of more than 30%. Much of this growth has been driven by double-digit increases in occupancy.

Vietnam has been hard hit in recent years by SARS and bird flu which have halted demand and the recent growth in occupancy to reach 72%, now brings the country back in-line with the regional average.