The average Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the whole year of 2022 dropped by 0.38% year-on-year to 116.65 points, Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated.
The decrease was mainly attributable to lower hotel room rates; however, the higher prices for local food products partly offset the decrease.
Among the goods and services sectors that registered a significant increase were the indices of Entertainment & Cultural Activities (+23.3%) and Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+5.11%).
The price index of Accommodation let the falls, with a significant plunge of -15.52% y-o-y.
Although the general result for the whole year registered a drop (-0.38%) the TPI for the last quarter of 2022 (Q4) was already showing some recovery, rising 0.17% y-o-y.
This increase consisted mostly in the higher price of food products.
Among the various sectors of goods and services, price indices of Entertainment & Cultural Activities, Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco, and Medicine & Personal Goods grew in Q4 by 23.13%, 9.52%, and 5.24% y-o-y, respectively, while the index for Accommodation dropped by 19.5%.
The increase registered in Q4 is even more significant when compared with the Q3 of the same year. In this case, the TPI of Q4 presented an increase of 3.27% due to the recovery of the price index of Accommodation (+20.39%) quarter-to-quarter. According to the analysis made by the DSEC, this hike was mostly due to higher hotel room rates during the National Day holidays (October 1 to 5) and the Grand Prix (November 17 to 20).
The recent restocking of winter clothing by stores is also said to have pushed up the index of Clothing & Footwear by 5.6% in the same period.
TPI reflects the price change of goods and services purchased by visitors. Sectors of TPI goods and services are divided according to visitors’ consumption patterns. These are: Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco; Clothing & Footwear; Accommodation; Restaurant Services; Transport & Communications; Medicine & Personal Goods; Entertainment & Cultural Activities; and Miscellaneous Goods.
