After more than three years, the number of visitors to tourist accommodation establishments approached the numbers of the pre-pandemic period

The number of domestic guests in hotels and guesthouses in September 2023 reached the level of the tourist record year 2019. Despite the dynamic year-on-year growth, the number of foreign visitors was still lower by 13% than the in the pre-Covid period.

549 000 guests visited tourist accommodation establishments in Slovakia in September of this year, which is by 12% more than last year. Accommodation providers still lacked only 34 000 (6%) visitors to the successful year 2019. The number of overnight stays that guests spent in hotels and guesthouses increased by a tenth compared to last year and reached almost 1.4 million. The average length of stay was 2.5 nights.

The increase in accommodation indicators is still mainly influenced by the lower comparative base from September 2022, when guests gradually returned to accommodation establishments after the two-year COVID-19 pandemic.

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More than half of the total number of guests, i.e. 344 000 people (63%) were domestic visitors. Their total number increased by 6% year-on-year and reached the level of the tourist record year 2019. As many as five regions managed to exceeded the September highs from 2019, only Bratislavský, Trenčiansky and Prešovský kraj recorded less domestic clients.

In September, 205 000 foreign visitors also used accommodation services in Slovakia, although this was almost a quarter year-on-year increase in visit rate, but there were still less foreigners by 13.4% than in September 2019.

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From a regional perspective, all regions recorded a lower number of foreigners than in the pre-pandemic period, except Žilinský kraj, which exceeded the September 2019 values by more than a tenth. In absolute numbers, the most foreigners visited Bratislavský kraj (78 000), Žilinský kraj (36 000) and Prešovský kraj (33 000 foreign visitors). Together, these three regions represented almost three quarters of the total foreign visitors.

In total, in the first nine months of 2023, 4.5 million guests were accommodated in tourism establishments. In a year-on-year comparison, this is an increase by 22%, 9% of the total visit rate was missing from the values of 2019. Foreign guests stayed in Slovakia for 9 months by almost 40% more than last year, and the number of domestic tourists increased by 13%.

Development of turnover and capacity of accommodation establishments in the 3rd quarter of 2023

In the third quarter of 2023, accommodation establishments achieved turnover (excluding VAT) in the amount of EUR 192 million, it is a 21% year-on-year increase. It is not possible to compare their value with the pre-Covid year 2019 due to a methodological change - from 2021 turnover is reported excluding VAT.

Similar to the previous quarters of this year,  domestic visitors generated the majority of turnover in the third quarter as well, their share was 60%. Among the regions, tourism again achieved the highest turnover in Žilinský, Prešovský and Bratislavský kraj. Together, these three regions represented 62% of the SR turnover. In all regions, more than half of the turnover was generated by domestic clients, except Bratislavský kraj, where up to 68% of the total turnover of accommodation providers was generated by foreigners. Total turnover from foreign visitors increased by 31%, the year-on-year growth rate was more significant than the turnover growth from domestic guests.

In summary, a total of 4 988 accommodation establishments provided accommodation services in Slovakia in the third quarter. 72 000 bedrooms and 219 000 bed places (including camping grounds) were available to visitors. The net occupancy rate of permanent bed places reached 37.6%, the occupancy rate of rooms 41.2%. On average, 67 000 bedrooms and 158 000 permanent bed places were available per day.