UK tourism bounces back from Olympics lull
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Tourism and hotel occupancy across the UK has bounced back this year after seeing a dip during the Olympic and Paralympic Games last year.
Hotels in the UK have seen a 4.6% increase in occupancy for the month of June, according to new statistics. The latest figures from analysts STR Global has seen occupancy at 81.4% with the revenue per available room up 10.1% to GBP72.49. Guests are also paying more for their hotel nights with the average daily rate up 5.2% to GBP89.07.
London still dominated the majority of the increase, with an 8.3% rise in occupancy to 89.4%, while hotels outside the capital saw a 3.1% increase to 78.9%.
The results confirmed a return to the norm for UK hotels after the Olympic Games adjusted results for 2012. In the first six months of the year hotels across the UK were 72.1% full, with London seeing a 4.8% boost in supply against a 6.2% rise in demand. Regionally supply increased 2.1% next to demand up by 5.9%.
“London is an attractive destination for both leisure and business travellers alike, and we’ve seen normal trading conditions return to the capital,” said Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global. “It is promising to report positive results that show how strong the hotel industry has performed thus far in the post-Olympics year. Whilst there remains room to grow in the Regions, the U.K.’s hotel performance outside of London is showing signs of encouragement”.
VisitEngland backed the mood amongst the UK tourism market, saying its own research had shown businesses are confident of growth this year.
“Our latest research shows that accommodation providers and attractions are ‘very confident’ in the performance of their business for the period up until the end of the school summer holidays and their forward bookings for the summer are ‘very good’, compared to the same time last year,” said Lady Cobham, chairman of VisitEngland.
As the UK reminisces a year since the Olympics started during this weekend, Cobham added it had been a “fantastic year for tourism in England”.
The tourism authority believes the birth of Prince George will further propel the buzz around Britain, on top of the popularity of last year’s games and the Diamond Jubilee.
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