Tourist cities boosted by post-Brexit vote

The UK's key tourist cities have been boosted by strong revenue per available room (revpar) growth following the EU referendum and the subsequent depreciation in sterling, while other cities have experienced a plateauing or declining revpar, according to new research.

The Q3 2016 Hotel Bulletin, published by AlixPartners, HVS, HotStats and AM:PM, noted that higher prices are being charged by hoteliers in tourist hotspots. In Bath and Edinburgh (pictured), for instance, average room rates between July and September increased by 9% and 10 respectively, compared with the same quarter in 2015. Both cities benefited from the highest ever levels of inbound tourism during July with 3.8million visits.

Liverpool, which attracts both leisure and corporate business, recorded 13% revpar growth during the period. The city benefited, in particular, from the 10,000 attendees at the 2016 Labour Party Conference in September.

Meanwhile, with the exception of Manchester, cities that traditionally attract corporate customers recorded weaker growth in Q3 2016. Aberdeen continued to be the worst performing city with a revpar decline of 26% due to its traditional strong reliance on corporate travellers in the oil and gas industries, which continue to suffer from production and price issues.

The report said that while it is too early to draw any definite conclusions from the third quarter, "the tourism and hospitality industries appear to have received an immediate boost from the depreciated pound".

Hotel sector on verge of reaching peak in the market >>

London could be heading for a peak in hotel trading, warns report >>