PwC's Hotels Forecast shows serious problems the NI tourism is facing currently but predicts that staycation demand will drive demand next year.
The pandemic has caused serious downturn in many industries across Northern Ireland, but none moreso than tourism. PwC's Hotels Forecast for 2020-2021 has revealed that Belfast is one of the worst affected cities in this regard, with the second greatest drop in the key metric of revenue per available room.
The study examined hotel performance in 22 cities over the 12-month period from July 2019 to July 2020, giving an important glimpse of changes caused by the initial COVID-19 lockdown. Belfast's revenue per available room had been above the regional average (£55.88 compared to an average of £53.12), but dropped to £22.48 (below the new regional average of £25.56) due to lockdown.
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Occupancy rates in Belfast hotels were down from 79% to 21.4%, with the avertage daily room rate decreasing by 25%. The report attributes a significant amount of the drop to ongoing travel restrictions, local lockdowns, and the fear of quarantines on return from overseas holidays. PwC expects these factors to continue to impact domestic leisure tourism in 2021.
Cara Haffey, PwC NI Partner, said: "Those looking for signs of potential new revenue streams are converging on staycations. Many hoteliers have invested significantly for the long-term in recent years and will encourage domestic travellers who might otherwise have planned overseas breaks. The regions are expected to fare better than the capital in 2021, whether a vaccine is developed or not. Strong domestic leisure will also offer new potential investment opportunities to expand UK portfolios."
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PwC expects staycations to play an important role in the year ahead, whether or not a vaccine is developed. The report suggests that collecting data on customer experiences will become even more important in the year ahead, with hotels now urged to invest in a good Customer Management System to help them keep on top of customer feedback. For more information or to read the full report, head over to https://www.pwc.co.uk/hotelsforecast
Source: Written based on press release
