Europe’s Halting Growth
In Europe, performance continues to lag other global regions, as COVID-19’s impact on the continental population has not yet fully loosened its grip.
Occupancy remained below 20% in April, and with average rate only up $8 since the same time a year ago, RevPAR only hit $16, which, though 225% higher YOY, is still wildly off from its pre-pandemic level, down 85.5% from April 2019.
With TRevPAR still muted at $28.85 in the month, and expenses creeping back as properties reopen, hotels suffered the ignominy of negative GOPPAR for the seventh consecutive month.
There is good news on the horizon for Europe: an agreement by the European Union to relax travel restrictions from those outside the bloc. Ambassadors from the 27 EU countries agreed to ease the criteria for non-E.U. nations to be considered a “safe country,” from which all tourists can travel. Up to now, that list consisted of only seven nations: Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
The proposal would be a shot in the arm for European tourism, after the number of foreign visitors dropped by 70 percent in 2020.
Paseo de china
April was another month of continued success for Asia-Pacific’s hotels, but an upsurge in COVID cases could dampen performance. Occupancy in the month remained above 50%, as RevPAR surged to a level 241% higher than at the same time last year.
As total revenue remained steady, so, too, did GOPPAR, which at $25.80 was up 276% YOY.
Asia-Pacific’s overall performance has been buoyed by China, where occupancy hit close to 70% in April, at or near historical levels. In the month, GOPPAR reached $41.78, which is less than $4 off its April 2019 level. And there is still room for improvement. While domestic business aircraft travel in China has recovered by a reported 95%, international charter activity is still sitting at less than 20 percent.
