Tourism service prices up 4.3% in Q3

The Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the third quarter (Q3) of 2024 rose 4.29% year-on-year to 147.22 points, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

Among the various sections of goods and services, the price index of Miscellaneous Goods rose by 13.68% year-on-year due to dearer prices of jewelry. The indices of Clothing & Footwear (+6.14%), Accommodation (+3.52%) and Restaurant Services (+3.52%) also increased. Meanwhile, the index of Entertainment & Cultural Activities dropped by 13.33%.

In comparison with the previous quarter, TPI for Q3 2024 went up by 4.43%. Higher hotel room rates during the summer holiday pushed up the price index of Accommodation by 24.38% quarter-on-quarter. By contrast, the price index of Clothing & Footwear decreased by 6.56% due to seasonal changes in sales of summer clothing.

The average TPI for the last four quarters rose by 8.86% from the previous period. Price indices of Accommodation, Clothing & Footwear, and Miscellaneous Goods increased by 25.86%, 8.3%, and 8%, respectively.
On the other hand, the index of Entertainment & Cultural Activities recorded a drop of 7.42%. For the first three quarters of 2024 (January to September), TPI went up by 3.9% year-on-year due to growth in the price indices of Miscellaneous Goods and Clothing & Footwear, which grew by 9.13% and 7.56% respectively. Once again, Entertainment & Cultural Activities (-14.51%) was the only category to register a decrease.

The TPI reflects the price change of goods and services purchased by visitors. Categories included in the index are selected based on visitor consumption patterns, such as Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco; Clothing & Footwear; Accommodation; Restaurant Services; Transport & Communications; Medicine & Personal Goods; Entertainment & Cultural Activities; and Miscellaneous Goods.