Stockholm's tourism industry June 2009
46,000 more overnight stays in county hotels, hostels and vacation villages Stockholm, as the rest of Sweden, has seen generally negative developments in the number of stays at hotels, hostels and vacation villages during the year as a result of the financial crisis. In June that tendency was broken, at least temporarily. Just over 826,000 stays equalled 46,000 or 6 percent more than in the same month in 2008. It was hotels that recorded more stays, while hostels / vacation village stays declined somewhat. Both Swedes and foreign guests visited in greater numbers. The increase was entirely localized to hotels in the city, while elsewhere in the county figures were practically unchanged in relation to June 2008. Camping is not included in these accommodation figures. It is only reported on an annual basis The number of overnight stays in hotels, hostels and vacation villages in Stockholm County 1 200 000 1 000 000 800 000 600 000
2008 2009
400 000 200 000 0
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
The number of overnight stays in hotels, hostels and vacation villages 2009 compared with 2008 June 2009 Sweden
Comparison: June 2008 %
Jan-Jun 2009
Comparison: Jan-Jun 2008 %
3,058,752
+7
14,746,934
-4
Stockholm County
826,073
+6
3,870,253
-3
- of which the City of Stockholm
588,292
+9
2,765,551
+1
- of which the rest of the county
237,781
0
1,104,702
- 10
- of which Swedes
486,822
+5
2,589,021
-3
- of which foreign visitors
339,251
+8
1,281,232
-2
Source: The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth and SCB
Where do the visitors come from? Encouragingly, more overnight stays were made than in same month in 2008 by both Swedes and foreign visitors. Last summer hostels recorded record numbers of visitors. In June 2009, however, only hotels saw their number of visitors increase compared to last year. Seen in comparison to the first half of the year, the tendency is the opposite, however. Swedish visitors made 487,000 overnight stays in June, which was 5 percent more than last year. In the first half of 2009, however, Swedish stays were 77,000 fewer than during the same period in 2008. The Nordic markets have moved in a relatively positive direction so far in 2009 (+ 9 percent). June was no exception – on the contrary. 61,000 overnight stays were 36 percent or 16,000 more than in June 2008. First and foremost, more visitors came from Denmark and Finland. Even non-Nordic European countries showed higher numbers than in the same month in 2008. Behind this increase is, for example, more stays made by visitors from Germany (+15 percent), France (+4 percent), Italy (+41 percent), and Spain (+18 percent). Moving in the opposite direction were Great Britain (-9 percent) and Russia (-6 percent). On the other hand, important non-European markets continue to decline. Stays by visitors residing in the U.S. dropped 18 percent in June and 16 percent in the first 6 months of the year. For China, the decline was even greater – 32 percent in June and 27 percent for the whole year.
Guest nights in hotels, hostels and vacation villages in Stockholm County and City distributed by country Jan-Dec 2008 County
June 2009 County
% of visitors to Sweden County
Comparison, June 2008, % County
Jan-Jun 2009 County
% of visitors to Sweden County
Comparison Jan-Jun 2008 %, County
June 2009 City
Jan-Jun 2009 City
5,742,582
486,822
22
+ 5
2,589,021
22
-3
300,917
1,663,541
Denmark
126,641
18,222
25
+ 51
66,518
14
+ 16
14,518
52,149
Norway
189,876
21,022
16
+ 10
89,454
19
+1
17,060
76,147
Finland
159,672
21,634
38
+ 66
79,226
43
+ 17
17,001
61,986
Iceland
9,042
365
29
- 43
2,675
50
- 50
279
2,124
Totals for Nordic countries (not incl. Sweden)
485,231
61,243
24
+ 36
237,873
21
+9
48,858
192,406
Germany
342,648
48,251
35
+ 15
150,592
36
+7
39,711
129,179
Great Britain
333,071
31,804
51
- 9
135,970
49
- 13
27,700
120,158
Ireland
20,603
1,876
58
- 4
8,759
56
- 13
1,737
8,128
The Netherlands
87,557
9,303
29
- 4
41,429
36
+3
8,283
36,318
Belgium
34,520
3,617
46
- 6
15,587
46
-2
3,161
13,570
4,795
333
51
- 23
1,797
61
- 33
297
1,607
138,315
13,862
57
+ 4
65,362
57
+5
12,435
59,033
Switzerland
69,248
10,031
50
+ 56
31,475
54
+ 12
9,022
28,666
Austria
35,927
4,793
56
+ 32
17,033
52
+ 31
4,304
15,067
155,941
15,743
53
+ 41
71,465
60
+ 23
13,998
66,615
Sweden
Luxembourg France
Italy
Jan-Dec 2008 County
June 2009 County
% of visitors to Sweden County
Comparison, June 2008, % County
Jan-Jun 2009 County
% of visitors to Sweden County
Comparison Jan-Jun 2008 %, County
June 2009 City
Jan-Jun 2009 City
115,050
13,351
66
+ 18
45,678
67
-4
12,293
40,620
Portugal
17,294
1,586
52
- 36
5,776
54
- 34
1,482
5,258
Greece
18,445
2,328
75
+ 8
7,297
59
-3
1,948
6,515
Turkey
11,779
1,878
73
+ 75
4,966
62
- 14
1,413
4,178
Russia
111,203
8,086
54
- 6
48,697
56
- 13
5,590
34,339
Estonia
8,590
814
39
+ 25
4,512
38
+ 28
606
3,312
Latvia
7,554
897
23
+ 27
3,334
25
-9
652
2,573
Lithuania
5,141
507
21
+ 10
2,505
28
+8
427
2,118
Poland
33,558
3,257
20
+ 12
15,370
25
-0
2,467
10,769
The Czech Republic
10,935
1,158
30
+ 32
5,701
38
+ 20
633
2,978
Slovakia
5,122
307
15
- 41
1,563
13
- 41
215
1,270
Hungary
10,213
1,041
30
+ 15
4,001
36
- 19
821
3,220
The rest of Europe
94,076
7,155
57
- 36
27,269
52
- 38
6,330
25,257
Totals for Europe excl. Nordic countries
1,671,585
181,978
43
+ 6
716,138
46
-3
155,525
620,748
234,117
28,989
60
- 18
86,952
55
- 16
25,768
77,654
Canada
28,610
3,405
59
- 9
10,664
57
- 23
3,081
9,515
Central & South America
26,398
3,250
61
+ 3
10,262
59
-9
2,977
9,531
Japan
61,560
8,262
69
- 1
21,575
59
-9
5,536
16,240
8,919
1,168
35
+ 15
3,679
47
- 15
845
2,313
China
46,749
3,894
44
- 32
16,334
43
- 27
3,457
15,031
The rest of Asia
94,720
8,856
58
- 11
33,812
53
- 30
7,994
31,112
Australia
30,326
3,581
64
- 15
11,252
63
- 15
3,282
10,432
3,491
550
52
+ 34
1,321
52
- 23
473
1,181
The rest of the world
112,144
4,371
42
- 75
19,466
37
- 74
3,724
17,047
Not indicated
143,239
29,704
60
+ 198
111,904
62
+ 245
25,855
98,800
Totals (excluding Europe)
790,273
96,030
58
- 3
327,221
55
-7
82,992
288,856
Totals from abroad
2,947,089
339,251
40
+ 8
1,281,232
39
-2
287,375
1,102,010
Totals
8,689,671
826,073
27
+ 6
3,870,253
26
-3
588,292
2,765,551
Spain
USA
South Korea
New Zeeland
Trends in Sweden’s major cities Earlier in 2009, Malmö and the surrounding region saw the biggest growth of the metropolitan regions. The same is true if we look at the total for the first half of the year. In June, on the other hand, developments in the number of stays in Malmö and all of Skåne were less positive than for the country overall, also compared to the regions of Stockholm and Göteborg. In the cities of Stockholm and Göteborg, the number of overnight stays at hotels, hostels and vacation villages increased 9 percent.
The number of overnight stays in hotels, hostels and vacation villages 2009 compared with 2008 June 2009
Comparison: June 2008, %
Jan-Jun 2009
Comparison: Jan-Jun 2008, %
Stockholm County
826,073
+6
3,870,253
-3
Greater Stockholm
826,073
+6
3,870,253
-3
Stockholm City
588,292
+9
2,765,551
+1
Västra Götaland County
481,608
+6
1,997,881
-7
Greater Göteborg
309,728
+7
1,382,066
-6
Göteborgs City
253,532
+9
1,144,803
-5
Skåne County
307,150
+1
1,393,041
-1
Greater Malmö
148,354
+2
770,696
+3
97,059
+2
517,786
+4
Malmö City
Hotels – who travels to Stockholm? Sixty-two percent of the county’s hotel rooms were occupied in June by guests visiting Stockholm on business. Compared to the same month in 2008, the percentage of rooms booked by non-business travellers increased somewhat. The increase in hotel occupancy in June was due exclusively to the fact that more rooms were booked by visitors in the city in a private capacity. The number of rooms booked by business travellers fell by just over 4,000, compared to June 2008.
Company business Company conference Private group leisure Private leisure
June 2009
June 2006 - 2009 350 000
28%
300 000 250 000
49%
200 000
Business travel Leisure travel
11% 12%
150 000 100 000 50 000 0
2006
2007
2008
2009
Hotel – price trends In June the number of occupied hotel rooms increased by almost 17,000, compared to June 2008. Normally, increased occupancy translates to higher prices. But that was not the case this year. In June a booked hotel room cost an average of SEK 1,148 in Stockholm city and SEK 1,093 in the county overall. That is 4 and 3 percent less, respectively, than the same month last year. The increase in booked hotel rooms was entirely limited to hotels in Stockholm city. Despite lower room rates, Stockholm hotels increased their revenue from room bookings somewhat, compared to the previous year. Revenue was SEK 408 million in the city and SEK 543 million in the entire county. For the first half of 2009, however, revenue fell 10 percent in the city and 11 percent in the county, compared to 2008. Revenues, kr/occupied room
Total lodging revenues, million kr
June 2009
Comparison: June 2008, %
Jan-Jun 2009
Comparison: Jan-Jun 2008, %
June 2009
Comparison: June 2008, %
Jan-Jun 2009
Comparison: Jan-Jun 2008, %
Stockholm city
1,148
-4
1,111
-6
407.9
+2
1,939.4
- 10
Stockholm county
1,093
-3
1,079
-5
542.7
0
2,698.0
- 11
Hotels – occupancy In June occupancy in county hotels increased for the first time this year (with the exception of March, where Easter distorts comparison with 2008). 64.5 percent of available rooms in the county were occupied in June – a slight increase from June 2008. In the city, this increase was greater. That is 76 percent occupancy or 2.5 percent more than last year. Four- and five-star hotels in Stockholm city reported occupancy rates of over 80 percent for the full week and nearly 85 percent on weekdays.
Room occupancy rate in percentages of available rooms Stockholm city
100 90 80 70 60
2008
50
2009
40 30 20
2008
10
2009
Ja n Fe M b ar s Ap ri l M a Ju y ne Ju ly Au g Se p O ct N ov D ec
0
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Ja n Fe M b ar s Ap ril M ay Ju ne Ju ly Au g Se p O ct N ov D ec
Stockholm county