Strong Olympic legacy creates tourism growth
The UK appears to be benefitting from a boost in tourist numbers as a result of worldwide exposure created by the 2012 London Olympic Games.
According to latest figures in the Hotel Bulletin: Q3 2013, from Zolfo Cooper, AM:PM and HVS, the UK has avoided the slump in tourist volumes experienced by recent host nations of the Olympic Games.
While non-games visitors avoided the UK in summer 2012 - due to perceived high prices and travel congestion, it seems that tourists have returned in considerable numbers during the summer of 2013 to both London and the UK as a whole.
Warm weather during July and August boosted domestic tourism, which, when couple with an increase in international demand, resulted in a significant growth in the number of visitors to key tourist destinations.
During July and August 2013, improved revenue per available room (revpar) figures were recorded in Edinburgh (up 20% from the same period last year), Stratford-upon-Avon (up 14%), Bath (up 14%), Oxford (up 11%) and York (up 7%).
Unsurprisingly , London, which achieved record revpar figures during the Olympics, experienced a 8.5% year-on-year fall in revpar this summer.
Other key findings in the Hotel Bulletin: Q3 2013 show that 54% of all active development in new hotels is within the budget sector. New projects within the three star market continue to fall with only 3% of the active pipeline within this space, with investors appearing to currently favour four star or budget hotels.
Cities which have active pipelines above 10% of their current supply include Newcastle (16%), Glasgow (14%), Bath (12%) and Birmingham (12%).
Strong regional hotel performance brings out investors and buyers >>
Visits increase despite falling spending as Zolfo Cooper points to ‘austerity fatigue' >>
