...Sector Outlook Stable: Fitch Ratings estimates that international arrivals w ill slow in 2019 after a record 2018 driven by Europe and APAC. There already has been a deceleration in the first part of 2019, despite a buoyant trend in APAC and the Middle East. A strong pipeline of planned room openings globally might surpass emerging-market traveller demand, thereby leading to a glut of rooms. Hotels are having to alter their strategies to meet changing geopolitical and consumer behaviour. These factors, combined w ith an intrinsic cyclicality, support the stable sector outlook, as reflected by the stabilisation of four Rating Outlooks in the hotels portfolio during 2019. Challenged RevPAR after Record Perform ance: Revenue per available room (RevPAR) w eakened during 1H19, as anticipated in Fitch's 2019 Outlook, decreasing in APAC and MEA. Militant attacks in Sri Lanka, trade tensions betw een the US and China and socio-political turbulence in Hong Kong have created a tough environment in...
