Half a million guests visited hotels and guesthouses in Slovakia in June, the trend of faster growth in the number of foreigners continued

In June, accommodation establishments in Slovakia still lacked 11% of visitors to reach the high values of the tourist record year 2019. This applied to all SR regions except Trnavský kraj, which was the only one to already exceeding the pre-Covid level of both foreigners and residents.

The total number of visitors to hotels, guesthouses and other tourism accommodation establishments in Slovakia in June 2023 reached 543 000 people, which represented a year-on-year increase by almost 11%. In order for the accommodation establishments to reach the numbers as in the corresponding period of the year before the pandemic, the accommodation establishments still lacked 67 000 (11%) visitors. The number of nights that guests spent in tourism establishments reached 1.3 million and it was higher by 9% than a year ago. The average length of stay was 2.5 nights. The increase in accommodation indicators is still mainly influenced by the low comparative base from June 2022, when guests gradually returned to accommodation establishments after the two-year COVID-19 pandemic.

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More than two-thirds of the total number of guests, i.e. 348 000 people, were domestic visitors. Their year-on-year increase slightly exceeded 4%, but 5% of domestic visitors were still missing from the pre-Covid numbers of June 2019. The number of visitors increased in all regions, with the exception of Košický kraj, which experienced a slight year-on-year decrease in the number of visitors in June. In June, the three most important tourist regions - Žilinský, Prešovský and Bratislavský kraj recorded the highest number of domestic guests. Together, these three regions represented almost two thirds of domestic visitors.

195 000 foreign visitors also used accommodation services in Slovakia in June, which was a 24% year-on-year increase in the visit rate. Their number rose year-on-year in all regions. The higher dynamics of their growth is a consequence of the return to normal after the years affected by the pandemic. Trnavský kraj managed to exceed the number of foreigners from 2019 in June. In absolute numbers, the most foreigners visited Bratislavský kraj (81 000), Žilinský kraj (28 000) and Prešovský kraj (26 000 foreign visitors). Together, these three regions accounted for 70% of the total foreign visitors.

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In total, for the first half of 2023, 2.6 million guests were accommodated in tourism establishments, which represents a year-on-year increase in the number of visitors by 33%. Compared to the first half of 2019, the number of visitors was lower by only one tenth. The number of foreigners increased by more than half year-on-year, domestic visitors increased by almost a quarter.

Development of turnover and capacities of accommodation establishments in the 2^nd quarter of 2023

In the second quarter of 2023, accommodation establishments achieved turnover (excluding VAT) in the amount of EUR 132 million. This is a 28% 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 first quarter, domestic visitors generated the majority of turnover in the second quarter as well. Their share was up to 61%. Among the regions, tourism achieved the highest turnover in Bratislavský, Prešovský and Žilinský kraj, these three regions represented 60% of turnover in the SR. In all regions, more than half of the turnover was generated by domestic clientele, with the exception of Bratislavský kraj where up to 66% of the turnover of accommodation providers was generated by foreigners.

In summary, a total of 4 612 accommodation establishments provided accommodation services in Slovakia in the second quarter. 69 000 bedrooms and 192 000 bed places (including camping grounds) were available to the visitors. The net occupancy rate of permanent bed places reached 26.7%, the occupancy rate of rooms 32.9%. On average, 62,000 bedrooms and 143 000 permanent bed places were available per day.