THE hotel owner GPT has announced that its earnings for the full 2008 financial year, to December 31, will be down by 27 per cent on the previous year.

The downgrade was due to the increasing risk of a major credit crunch

GPT who are owners of the largest hotel in the country, by room number - Four Points at Darling Harbour - and the Ayers Rock Resort. Occupancy rates for both are down because of the high Australian dollar discouraging international visitors and high petrol prices, which are keeping domestic tourists at home.

In its latest report on hotels, CB Richard Ellis's hotel's business and marketing analyst, Nathan Wiltshire, said that over the past 12 months much had been made of the turmoil facing tourism.

"Local tourism industries are said to be facing a substantial challenge in the face of a high Australian dollar that is pushing Australians overseas for their holidays, while helping dissuade foreigners from making the opposite journey," he said.

"Add to this high inflation, including record fuel prices, increasing interest rates, and negativity surrounding the global liquidity crisis and you could be easily forgiven for thinking the floor is about to fall out from under Australia's major hotel markets."

A lack of supply will help underpin Sydney's market. Mr Wiltshire said about 810 new rooms would be added to Sydney's total in the next 18 months, representing an additional 4 per cent. The inner-city, which represents 76 per cent of the total rooms, will have an increase in supply of just 1 per cent.

"This lack of new supply in the nation's biggest tourist destination, Sydney, is assisting in stifling both domestic and international visitor number and visitor night growth," he said.

"Additionally, this has implications for business by hindering the city's ability to service the substantial corporate travel sector."

Colliers International's national director, hotels and leisure, Michael Thomson, said the latest hotel figures showed Perth remained the most popular state, because of the mining boom, with revenue per available room increasing by 17.1 per cent to $114.03.

Sydney once again achieved the highest room rates in Australia, he said, with the average room rate increasing by 4.9 per cent over 12 months to an average price per room of $182.30. Sydney's occupancy was 81.5 per cent, and in Melbourne it was 80.9 per cent.

Canberra also experienced strong room rate growth, increasing by 10.4 per cent to $134.31 over the year.

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