Fortunately, memories of the shock caused by Covid on the global tourism sector, from which Monaco was not immune in the past, have already disappeared. Since the start of 2022, the optimism of the past, stemming from the glorious days of 2019, has gradually returned.
The Principality’s tourist and economic offering is visibly booming in 2023; We’re coming off a busy summer and a busy fall schedule is imminent.
How quickly we are moving from famine to celebration and attention is turning to measuring all aspects of this new bloom which may well demonstrate a boom when all the numbers are in.
The first good measurements of the strength of the tourism sector arrive as the summer season draws to a close and at the top of the analyzes is the Monaco Tourist and Convention Office (DTC).
We turn to DTC to shed light on various aspects, including hotel occupancy rates and the main nationalities represented. Let’s look at their reports and what Guy Antognelli, the head of the Tourist and Convention Office, also reveals through the press.
It’s no surprise that summer 2023 was a real success. July saw an impressive hotel percentage occupancy rate in the mid-70s, and in August the occupancy rate was still over 70%.
Although not all statistics have quite reached the pre-Covid levels of 2019, it is a far cry from previous years. Compared to the past collapse in annual occupancy rates, you can see the current strong improvement and continuing trend: the annual occupancy rate was 64% in 2019, collapsed by more than half to 27 % in 2020 and in 2021 it was 39%. .
So, when we return to the summer occupancy percentage of the 1970s, there is cause for celebration.
The international push
So, where do these tourists come from? Europe has always been a pillar and a powerful engine of tourism in the Principality, but the United States is now making a comeback. Without forgetting that thanks to the Principality’s outreach efforts, the figures take on a more diversified international flavor.
The top three summer nationalities, consistent throughout the year, are France, the United States and the United Kingdom, with Italy in fourth place.
Yet there is a notable increase in the number of non-European visitors… particularly a substantial increase from the Middle East.
Asians are increasingly visible, including the Japanese, but Chinese tourism levels have not yet reached historic peaks. This perhaps speaks more to specific challenges within China itself. But there are many positive notes about other Asians, notably the Australians who have flocked to Monaco in significant numbers. Everything indicates that this strength of diversity of international interest in Monaco is set to continue. The Principality’s international outreach efforts are bearing fruit.
Business tourism
Watch out for a potential boom in business tourism this fall. There are so many high profile gatherings happening with full participation. Records for more participants than in previous editions could indeed begin to be broken at the end of 2023 and reports indicate an increase in demand already for 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The Monaco Yacht Show, the Security Symposium, Luxe Pack and Sportel are all high-level events with full attendance attesting to the resurgence of business tourism.
The role of the Principality as a hub for business conferences and seminars is obviously a key driver of the current boom.
This article is originally published on asmfc.com
