European City Tourism Monitor 16th edition – Summary
Experts are confident of a positive 1st quarter 2013 and an even better 2013 as a whole
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The results of the 16th European City Tourism Monitor show that almost half (49%) of city tourism professionals participating in the survey expect bednights in the 1st quarter of 2013 to increase, compared to the same period of 2012. Expectations for the whole of 2013 relative to 2012 are significantly more positive, with as many as 77.5% expecting a growth in total bednights for 2013 as a whole.
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1st quarter 2013
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Nearly half (49.3%) of those interviewed expect bednights in their city destinations to grow in the 1st quarter of 2013, compared to the same period in 2012. The majority of the experts (45.1%) expect growth to be of between 1 and 5%, whilst 4.2% believe that bednight volumes will grow by more than 5%. 33.8% believe the number of bednights will be similar to last year, and 14.1% are expecting a slight decrease in total bednights. Compared to previous surveys, the difference between positive and negative expectations for total bednights has narrowed, but is still on the positive side.
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Growth in the 1st quarter is expected to come predominantly from the leisure segment and from international markets. Nevertheless, the picture is subject to regional differences. Expectations for growth from the six markets included in this report are not significantly high, the exception being the German source market. The expected growth from international markets must, therefore, come from international markets not included in this report. Results from the open ended question regarding ‘key factors influencing tourism in 2013’, suggest that growth from ‘new growth markets’ will have an influence on tourism development in 2013.
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In the main, the respondents expect hotel prices for the 1st quarter to stay the same, with some regional differences.
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Total bednights in 2013
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Expectations for the whole of 2013 in terms of total bednights compared to 2012 are considerably more positive than the expectations for the 1st quarter of 2013: as many as 77.5% expect a growth in total bednights in 2013 compared to 2012, with the majority (63%) expecting a growth of plus 1% to plus 5 %.
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The economic situation in Europe and the rest of the world continues to be a key issue. 34% of experts believe this to be the most significant factor that will influence city tourism in 2013. Future growth from emerging markets is also a key factor expected to influence tourism in 2013. Forthcoming events, increased attention and changes in capacity are also referred to as significant factors.
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For further details on this report, or the project, please contact:
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Lone Alletorp Callard (Author of this report)
Wonderful Copenhagen
lac@woco.dk
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