No drop in UK hotel bookings after Westminster attack
There was no drop in UK hotel bookings following the terror attack in Westminster in March this year, which left five people dead.
According to research from the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR), occupancy in the UK rose by 1.3% in April as compared to the same period the year before.
The finding is welcome news for UK hoteliers, and is in contrast to the situation that French hoteliers faced following attacks in both Paris and Nice, where bookings were hit.
It was reported in August 2016 that French occupancy rates slumped in the months since 130 people were killed in Paris in November 2015, with visitor numbers dwindling further after 85 people were massacred in Nice in July 2016. Occupancy rates in Paris hotels were estimated to have halved.
Growth for UK hoteliers in April 2017 was driven mostly by prices, which rose 5.6% in local currency against the same period a year before.
The performance in the UK reflected a positive picture across much of the rest of Europe. April figures showed an increase in revpar of 4.3% in April for Europe as a whole, while occupancy rates were up by 2.3 percentage points.
The results tally with recent figures from VisitBritain, which showed that April was a record month for inbound tourism to the UK, with 3.7 million visitors arriving in the country in April, up 19% compared to the same period last year.
The ALMR is a national trade body representing the interests of the UK's eating and drinking out sector. Its membership includes pubs, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and coffee shops, and the ALMR represents over 90% of all managed pubs in the UK.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the ALMR said: "We have an increasing body of members who operate in the hotel and accommodation sector, and as the only national trade body dedicated to representing the interests of licensed hospitality operators, we're delighted to be able to share this information which paints a continuing positive picture for the industry in the UK and throughout Europe."
London hotels break revpar figures for May >>
Hotels hold strong following Westminster attack >>
Westminster hotels and restaurants on alert following terror incident >>
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