Business looking up, say hoteliers

Six months on from 11 September, business confidence among hoteliers appears to be rising.

A straw poll of delegates at the European Hotel Managers Association annual congress, held last Friday in Amsterdam, showed that the majority of attendees believed business in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK was improving.

This differs significantly from a similar poll conducted last November at the Annual European Hotel Investment conference in London, when most delegates had a gloomy outlook for the future.

Comparing the two surveys, the largest swing in opinion was for Germany. In November, 85% of delegates thought that market would decline during 2002, but last week that figure fell to 18%.

Italy and Spain fared almost as well, last week an average of 60% of delegates believed these markets would improve, compared with 35% and 45% respectively back in November.

Business confidence in the UK market showed signs of improvement too. In November, 21% of delegates thought business would grow during 2002, but last week the figure had risen to 38%.

Both of the polls were conducted by consultants Andersen.