Tourism rose dynamically in 2022, but did not reach the pre-pandemic performance

In 2022, Slovakia's tourism contributed to 2% of Slovakia's gross domestic product. The sector was able to overcome most of its record slump from 2020 and 2021, but its share in the economy's performance was still by a quarter smaller than in 2019. This was confirmed by the data of the Tourism Satellite Account for 2022, which summarizes the comprehensive contribution of tourism to the Slovak economy.

In 2022, the Slovak tourism slowly recovered from a difficult period of sharp declines caused by measures during the pandemic. Economic and performance indicators of the tourism sector (tourism) increased dynamically year-on-year. The direct impact of the tourism on the economy, i.e. the direct gross domestic product of tourism as well as the direct gross value added of tourism increased significantly compared to the year 2021, but they were far from reaching the pre-pandemic values, i.e. from 2019. The Statistical Office of the SR published the data of the tourism satellite account for the year 2022, which records in detail and professionally the contribution of the tourism sector across the Slovak economy.

The tourism sectors in 2022 produced a total value of almost EUR 11.4 billion, which represents a significant one-third year-on-year increase and at the same time 12% growth compared to the pre-Covid, tourist record year 2019. This is a summary of the production of characteristic tourism sectors that are internationally comparable, as well as the sectors specific to tourism only in Slovakia. Their production may include not only tourism products and services, but also other production in the economy.

Direct gross value added, which is directly related to tourism, recorded a year-on-year increase of over 60% in 2022 and reached EUR 1.7 billion. In a year-on-year comparison, it increased by EUR 670 million. However, compared to 2019, it was by approximately EUR 370 million lower. Of the individual sectors of tourism, accommodation services, passenger transport and catering services contributed the most to the creation of value added. Together, these three structures represented half of the total direct gross value added.

The direct gross domestic product (GDP) of tourism reached a value of EUR 2.2 billion in 2022, it increased by 56% year-on-year. Despite this growth, the share in the performance of Slovakia's economy reached only 2%, significantly less than in 2019. The value of the tourism direct GDP in 2022 approached the values of 2017, but the share of the GDP of the economy was lower due to the faster growth of the economy in 2022.

In 2019, the most successful tourist year, tourism represented 2.86% of the performance of the entire Slovak economy, in the following two years it dropped below 2%. We recorded the lowest value in 2021, when the share of tourism in the country's GDP decreased to 1.41%.

Labor market in the tourism sector

Total employment in tourism sectors rose at a moderate pace year-on-year, but continued to decline in some tourism structures. The total number of persons employed in tourism in 2022 increased by 1.7% year-on-year (by 2.9 thousand persons) to 170 thousand persons. Almost 85% of them were employees and 15% entrepreneurs. The number of hours worked also increased significantly by 12% year-on-year.

In 2022, the largest number of employees worked in food services (more than 72 000) and in passenger transport (almost 25 000 people). The highest, 14% year-on-year increase, was recorded in the sector of travel agencies, tour operators and other reservation and related activities. The number of employees decreased the most year-on-year, by more than 22% in the sector - rental of passenger transport equipment.

Expenditures in tourism has more than doubled year-on-year

During the year 2022, the participants in tourism (Slovaks and foreigners staying in the SR, as well as citizens of the SR traveling abroad) spent a total of EUR 5.6 billion.  It was significantly by EUR 3 billion more than in 2021. Compared to 2019, a fifth of the expenditures were still missing.

Almost half (EUR 2.6 billion) was spent on domestic tourism. It covered the expenditures of domestic visitors on trips around Slovakia. Their year-on-year growth reached almost 85%.

After the pandemic period, inbound tourism revived in Slovakia. Expenditures of foreign visitors in Slovakia reached EUR 1.4 billion and recorded the highest, 2.6-fold growth compared to 2021. Also in outbound CR (travel of Slovaks abroad) expenditures rose dynamically, from EUR 657 million in 2021 to EUR 1.6 billion in 2022. 

Except for purchases of various goods (consumer products that are not characteristic of tourism, e.g. food, apparel), the majority of the expenditure of the SR visitors (domestic and foreign visitors) was directed to payments for food services (20.6%) and accommodation services (19.9%).

Three quarters of all trips in Slovakia were one-day trips

The total number of leisure and business trips within domestic, inbound and outbound tourism rose to 51 million and increased by half year-on-year. Of these, a total of 45 million trips were made to the territory of Slovakia (domestic visitors and foreigners), which was still by a quarter less than in 2019. Dominant domestic tourists made three quarters of trips within Slovakia, while seven of their ten trips were one-day trips. Slovak visitors spent a total of 27 million nights in the territory of the SR in rented or non-rented accommodation.

More than a quarter, 12.5 million trips around Slovakia were made by foreign visitors. The number of their trips approximately doubled year-on-year, but there were still by 3.5 million lower trips of foreign guests than the pre-pandemic values. Overnight trips increased 2.4 times year-on-year, and one-day trips 1.8 times. One-day visits also dominated the travel of foreigners in the SR, represented two thirds of the trips. Stays related to accommodation were used by 4.1 million foreigners who spent 11.2 million nights in the SR.

Slovaks increased their travel abroad

In 2022, the Slovaks realized a total of 6.6 million trips abroad as part of the outbound tourism. The number of trips outside the SR also rose dynamically, in the two previous years it was significantly below 3 million trips per year.  At the same time, however, this indicator still lagged behind the figures from 2019, when the SR residents realized up to 9.7 million foreign trips.

This sector was dominated by multi-day trips with overnight stays, they represented almost 60% of trips abroad, where the Slovak residents spent 21 million nights.

The product of the Statistical Office of the SR´s Tourism Satellite Account 2022 includes:

• Expanded Informative report
• Data set in 21 detailed tables with data for 2022 and previous years from 2013