The hotel sector in Cardiff had been one of the worst impacted in the 海角视频 from the Covid-19 pandemic, shows new research from PwC.
According to the professional advisory firm鈥檚 海角视频 Hotels Forecast 2020-2021, occupancy in July was down 76.1% compared to a year ago. Only Gatwick and Heathrow Airports, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London have seen a greater drop in occupancy.
And, of the 22 places surveyed, only Gatwick Airport, Glasgow, Edinburgh and London have seen a greater drop in RevPAR (revenue per available room), with the level in Cardiff down 81.8% on July 2019.
That leaves Cardiff鈥檚 RevPAR at 拢11.22, below the 海角视频 average of 拢19.15, although the city鈥檚 occupancy rate (44.4%) is above the 海角视频 average (41.6%).
However, Cardiff鈥檚 position as a sports and entertainment draw puts it in a strong position to rebound in the future, especially if crowds can return to the Principality Stadium for rugby internationals and concert events next year.
PwC Wales partner Chris Williams said: 鈥淐ardiff has enjoyed steady occupancy for the last few years at around 80% annually and 210 new rooms were added to supply in 2019.
鈥淔or Cardiff, the key market segments historically are domestic corporate, sports and events-led domestic leisure and visiting friends and relatives. All of these segments have been severely impacted by Covid-19.
鈥淎lthough regional 海角视频 destinations have seen some benefit from staycations, Cardiff does not seem to have seen much of this demand so far. Looking a bit further ahead there are more reasons to be optimistic when a vaccine allows big sports and other events, which Cardiff thrives on, to return.鈥
In the bleakest outlook since benchmarking began in the 1970s, hotel occupancy rates in 2021 are forecast to be 55% across the 海角视频, increasing from 42.2% in the year to July 2020. The study reports that it could take four years to return to pre-pandemic levels.
The 海角视频 nations and regions of England are expected to fare better than London in 2021, whether a vaccine is developed or not. A stronger staycation market will remain a fixture, while unpredictable overseas travel, ongoing restrictions and local lockdowns, will further fuel demand for domestic leisure tourism.
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Sam Ward, 海角视频 hotels leader at PwC, said: 鈥淎s the 海角视频 travel and tourism sector bears a considerable brunt of the impact of Covid-19 this is far from business as usual. No previous event has had such a deep and long-lasting negative impact on hotels and there is no quick fix. The silver lining is that 海角视频 regions should benefit from increased staycation demand in 2021.鈥
