STR March 2020 Report: A heavy toll on world tourism...

A heavy toll on world tourism

Hotel occupancy in the world's largest cities, which normally ranges between 70 and 100 percent, hit bottom in March this year as expected. Italy experienced the largest decline, while Türkiye's hotel occupancy in March 2020 fell by 55.2 percent compared to the same month last year, dropping to 28.6 percent.

As the coronavirus pandemic brought tourism activities worldwide to a standstill, hotel occupancy around the world also fell sharply as expected due to the outbreak. The Association of Turkish Hoteliers (TÜROB), drawing on the March 2020 data from the global data and analytics company STR, examined the effects of the pandemic on the accommodation sector. According to TÜROB's research, occupancy rates at hotels located in the world's largest cities, which normally range between 70 and 100 percent in March, fell to as low as 10-20 percent this March.

The worst in 80 years in Europe

In Europe in particular, occupancy in March 2020 reached its lowest level since World War II, with an average of 26.3 percent. In March of last year, the average European occupancy had been 68.5 percent. Accordingly, occupancy in Europe in March 2020 fell by 61.6 percent compared to the same month last year.

The decline in average room rates in March 2020 was limited to 10.5 percent compared to the same period last year, settling at 92.9 euros. However, RevPAR, which expresses revenue generated per available room across the total number of rooms and is considered a far more important criterion, fell by the very high rate of 65.6 percent, dropping to 24.3 euros.

Italy practically collapsed

Among European countries, Italy, one of the world's most ambitious tourism destinations, experienced the largest decline in occupancy rates during March, at 90.8 percent. Italy's March 2020 occupancy rate was 6.2 percent. The Italian city of Milan was also the destination that experienced the largest decline in occupancy in March 2020, at 94.5 percent. Occupancy in Milan came in at 4 percent. Among the cities included in the study, the highest occupancy rate worldwide was seen in Sydney at 48.5 percent, while in Los Angeles, USA, which was observed to have taken relatively fewer measures on social isolation, this rate was 42.5 percent. In New York, where the most severe effects of the coronavirus pandemic were experienced, the rate stood at 34.5 percent. In Beijing, the capital of China, it was 16.4 percent. On a country basis, the highest occupancy rate in Europe in March 2020 belonged to the United Kingdom at 36.5 percent.

Türkiye's situation

Türkiye's hotel occupancy in March 2020 was recorded at 28.6 percent, a 55.2 percent decline compared to the same period in 2019. In March 2019 this rate had been 63.8 percent. Istanbul's occupancy rate, which was 72.1 in March 2019, was measured at 29 percent in March 2020, a decline of 59.8 percent. In March 2020 the average daily rate (ADR) fell by 14.2 percent compared to March 2019, to 65.8 euros. Revenue generated per available room across the total number of rooms (RevPAR) fell by 65.5 percent compared to last year, to 19.1 euros.

In Antalya, hotel occupancy in March 2020 fell by 49.4 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, to 29 percent. In Antalya the average daily rate dropped by 18 percent compared to March 2019, to 39.0 euros. Revenue generated per available room across the total number of rooms fell by 58.5 percent compared to last year, measured at 11.3 euros.

Occupancy rates in some world cities