Cleared For Takeoff In 2014
from San Diego Business Journal (Jan 4, 2014):
…“It’s not that it was a bad year, but it should have been a great year,” San Diego-based hotel consultant Robert Rauch said, describing the local 2013 hospitality climate. Rauch, the president of R.A. Rauch & Associates Inc., projects that San Diego hotel occupancy will rise 1 percent, average room rates will grow 4 percent, and RevPar should see gains of 5 percent in both 2014 and 2015.
The Filner Effect
Had it not been for ex-mayor Bob Filner’s blockage of funding for the local Tourism Marketing District, combined with a drop in defense contractor-related business travel spurred by federal sequestration, Rauch noted the region likely would have been fully back to prerecession numbers on most metrics at the end of 2013. As it stands, Rauch said that full recovery will likely not take place until year-end 2014.
…Consultant Rauch said direct service to Asia is key to attracting international visitors from booming markets, especially those from China, as San Diego competes with other destinations — such as Los Angeles and San Francisco — that already have an array of direct flights bringing those travelers to California.
Rauch said federal changes relaxing restrictions on visas for Chinese travelers, combined with continued growth in China’s economy, have set the stage for the United States to greet an additional 10 million annual leisure travelers from that nation in coming years, creating demand for an additional 70 million hotel room nights.
