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1. Flooding, notably in Valencia, caused 78% of all non-US insurance loss in 2024
Eight catastrophic events outside the U.S. “generated industry losses above $1 billion, (and) 2024 was dominated by flood events, driving 78% of the total industry loss figure,” according to Reinsurance News. The largest of the eight was the flooding in the Valencia region of Spain in October.
The Catastrophe Risk Evaluation & Standardizing Target Accumulations Industry Loss Index fourth-quarter update said it estimated the industry loss from that one event is $3.9 billion, “making it the highest cat loss on record for the Spanish insurance market.” The biggest loss from the Valenica event is covered by the government’s compulsory “Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros” scheme to guard against loss from natural catastrophes.
The center of Valencia and its tourism and business hotels were spared from the ravages of the Oct. flooding, which was mostly confined to satellite towns and villages. Officials in Valencia moved its river, the Turia, which flowed down the middle of the city, in the late 1960s following dramatic flooding in the previous decade.
2. Turkish inflation cools following December interest-rate cut
Inflation in Turkey eased a little in December to its lowest monthly rate since 2024, even though prices are still up 44.4% year over year. Inflation only rose by 1.03% from November, according to the country’s official statistician Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu, or Turkstat. Turkey’s inflation rate in December 2023 was 64.77%.
The government said the new number is testament to Turkey’s central bank lowering interest rates by “more than expected to 47.5% from 50% at its last meeting in December, suggesting policymakers are growing confident that the bank’s battle against rampant inflation is bearing fruit,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
3. US hoteliers expect to benefit from more travelers from India
United States hoteliers are confident international inbound travel will continue to improve in 2025, with tailwinds including increased priority in travel, pent-up business demand and a notable increase in Indian arrivals, Hotel News Now’s Trevor Simpson reports, noting inbound numbers have “been steadily rising year over year since the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2025 figures to be more of the same.”
Markets such as Miami and New York City are performing solidly, but Hawaii and San Francisco likely will continue to suffer.
One boost to inbound U.S. travel performance is the expectation of more visitors from India.
Jason Reader, chief operating officer of Remington Hospitality, said “the Indian traveler is one that’s kind of new. We certainly had some travel, but not the level that we’ve seen. You’ve got a rise in discretionary income and wealth with a certain part of the population, and then you’ve got an area of the world that they really haven’t seen or explored.”
4. Hong Kong consumer spend drops for ninth month running
Hoteliers and business owners in Hong Kong are increasingly gloomy at the prospects for trade, according to the South China Post, which said consumer spend there has fallen for the ninth consecutive month. The worry is that spend will be less than usual during the Chinese lunar new year, with the Year of the Snake slated to begin on Jan. 29.
“The pessimistic outlook from businesses coincided with the release of the latest retail figures on [Jan. 2], with sales falling by 7.3% to $31.7 billion Hong Kong dollars ($4.08 billion) in November, marking the ninth straight month of decline,” the news outlet reports.
On Jan. 1, Hong Kong reinstated a 3% tourism tax on hotels that had been abolished since 2008.
5. Playa sells Jewel Paradise Cove for $28.5 million
Fairfax, Virginia-based Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V., which specializes in Caribbean and Latin American all-inclusive properties, has “entered into a binding agreement with a third party to sell the Jewel Paradise Cove resort for a total consideration of $28.5 million in cash.” The hotel is in Runaway Beach on the north coast of Jamaica.
The buyer is unnamed, and the sale is due to be completed in the first quarter of 2025. Playa owns, operates and develops 24 rooms and 9,037 rooms in beachfront locations in Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic under branded companies including Hilton, Kimpton and Wyndham. According to CoStar, the Jewel has 225 rooms and was built in 1999.
Playa has recently disclosed executives are in exclusive talks on a possible sale of the company to Hyatt Hotels Corporation.