Spring holidays, even without snow in March, caused higher visit rate in hotels and guesthouses than a year ago in 6 out of 8 regions of the Slovak Republic

Despite the worse snow conditions, accommodation providers improved the number of visitors in March year-on-year, 6% of visitors were missing from the pre-pandemic values. Bratislavský kraj attracted the most guests. Prešovský kraj with the High Tatras prospered the most,  which was the only one of the 8 regions with a higher number of domestic and foreign guests, not only year-on-year, but also compared to March 2019.

In March 2024, 410 000 people spent at least one night in hotels, guesthouses, spas and other accommodation establishments in Slovakia. The total visit rate of tourism accommodation establishments in Slovakia increased by 2% year-on-year. The spring holidays caused the return of the higher number of visitors almost to the pre-Covid level, accommodation providers were missing only less than 6%, i.e. 24 000 guests, from the March 2019 numbers.

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Guests spent more than 1.1 million nights in tourism establishments during the month, which was by 3% more than a year ago. The average length of stay was 2.6 nights.

Almost two-thirds of those accommodated, i.e. 264 000 people, were domestic visitors. They were slightly more than a year ago, but still 5% below the level of values from March 2019. At the same time, 145 000 foreign visitors used accommodation services in Slovakia during the third month, their number increased by 4% year-on-year. Compared to the tourist peak of March 2019, the percentage of foreigners was still 6.5%.

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Development of tourism in the regions of Slovakia

From the perspective of regional visits, March 2024 was a month of contradictory development trends, year-on-year the number of visitors improved in 6 out of 8 regions of the Slovak Republic, growth was in the range from 1 to 23%. Only two regions had a deteriorated overall balance of visitors than last year, namely Žilinský and Bratislavský kraj. Compared to the pre-Covid March of 2019, only accommodation providers in Prešovský kraj, where are located the High Tatras, achieved higher visit rate.

After a two-month break, Bratislavský kraj became the most visited SR region during the third month of 2024, where almost 100 guests spent the night. It is the only region in Slovakia where foreigners have a long-term predominance, in March six out of ten visitors were from abroad.

Up to 40% of foreigners who paid for accommodation in Slovakia in March stayed in this region.

The visit rate of regions was ranked as follows: Žilinský kraj (more than 93 000 visitors), Prešovský kraj (almost 75 000 guests) and Banskobystrický kraj (48 000 visitors) These three regions, associated with mountain skiing and the predominance of domestic visitors, represented 53% of the total and 62% of the domestic guests in the country.

In a year-on-year comparison, the development was diverse. Worse skiing conditions in March caused a year-on-year decrease in both foreigners and domestic guests in Žilinský kraj. Banskobystrický kraj managed to increase at least the number of domestic guests year-on-year. Undoubtedly, the best development of the indicators was recorded by Prešovský kraj, which was the only one able to increase the number of visitors from both domestic and foreign guests, not only year-on-year, but also compared to March 2019.

Regions with a lower share of tourism, namely Trnavský, Trenčínský and Nitriansky kraj, recorded a more significant double-digit growth in the total number of guests at the level of 12 to 23%. However, these regions achieve significantly lower attendance figures and therefore even smaller increases or decreases are reflected in a higher percentage change.

Summary for the whole 1. quarter 2024

In total, for the first three months of 2024, 1.2 million guests stayed in tourism establishments. It was a year-on-year increase by 4%, while the number of foreigners rose more dynamically than locals. Compared to the first quarter of 2019, only 4% of guests were absent, the number of domestic visitors was particularly lagging behind.

Development of turnover and capacities of accommodation establishments in the 1^st quarter of 2024

Turnover of accommodation establishments in the first quarter of 2024 reached EUR 132 million (without VAT), which was almost a fifth year-on-year increase. The majority, up to 60%, was generated by domestic visitors. Among the regions, the highest turnover was achieved in Žilinský, Prešovský and Bratislavský kraj, these three regions represented more than two thirds of the turnover in the Slovak Republic. In all regions, however, more than half of turnover represented by domestic clients, only in Bratislavský kraj were foreigners (58% of turnover). Turnover from foreign visitors rose more dynamically than from the domestic guests.

In total, a total of 4 695 accommodation establishments provided accommodation services in Slovakia in the first quarter. 69 000 bedrooms and 192 000 bed places (including camping grounds) were available to the visitors. The net occupancy of permanent bed places reached 24.5%, the occupancy rate of rooms 28.5%. On average, 62 000 bedrooms and 143 000 permanent bed places per day were available.