Istanbul

Istanbul reported significant yearover- year performance growth in the opening eight months of 2019 as RevPAR increased by 32.8%. This lift is a sign of the market’s recovery, following a difficult period that began with a spate of terror attacks in Turkey in 2015 and a travel ban implemented due to political tensions with Russia.

However, demand rose by 16.2% in 2018, and this momentum continued into 2019, with the January to August period producing a 7% increase. With supply also rising in 2019, albeit at a slower rate than demand, there’s an indication that investor confidence is returning.

This trend is reflected by Istanbul’s 3.8% occupancy growth in the first eight months of the year, and the devaluation of the Turkish lira has led to notable ADR growth, rising by 28% over the same period. Growth against the US dollar has been muted, which reinforces Istanbul’s appeal for overseas travellers. RevPAR rose by 52.6% in Q2 of 2019, the typical high season for leisure visitors, representing another tick in the returning-visitor confidence box.

Jerusalem

Israel’s capital produced 16.4% RevPAR growth in the opening eight months of 2019, predominantly driven by ADR uplift of 12.7% as occupancy increased by 3.3% over the same period. Jerusalem’s performance is consistent with market trends across the country, as Eilat (+15.2%) also reported growth in light of an increase in overnight arrivals in Israel. Following growth of 14.1% in 2018, arrivals are projected to increase by an additional 4.3% in 2019.

Vienna

Austria’s capital has experienced a popularity increase in recent years, welcoming 7.5 million global visitors in 2018 – a 6% increase on 2018. Much of this can be attributed to a packed events calendar, with the Vienna Convention Bureau estimating that 12% of all overnight stays in 2018 can be attributed to congresses, meeting and incentives.

The trend for demand growth has continued, and Vienna recorded an occupancy increase of 3.5% as of August year-to-date. The market produced an ADR growth of 11.7% over the same January to August period, a result of double-digit increases in all market classes, leading to a RevPAR lift of 15.6%.

Madrid

The Spanish capital has led RevPAR growth in the Iberian market, as a strong and balanced business mix of corporate and leisure tourism drove a 13.5% lift in the metric. Occupancy rose by 2.5% in the opening eight months of 2019, but ADR growth has been the headline – up by 10.7% for the same period.

June was a standout month in Madrid, as a series of events drove a 43.5% increase in ADR. The market hosted the UEFA Champions League Final, Madrid Pride 2019 and the 20th Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR), among others. As a result, the market achieved strong demand growth (+3.7%) for the January to August period and benefitted from muted supply growth of 1.2%.

Barcelona

Following Madrid, Barcelona reported an 11.4% RevPAR increase during the January to August period. The social and political unrest caused by October 2017’s referendum caused 14 months of consecutive occupancy declines, yet Barcelona recorded a 4.5% year-over-year increase in the opening eight months of 2019. This has allowed hoteliers to increase rates, which are up by 6.6% for the same period. Key events have driven market performance in the first eight months of the year, including Infarma, MWC, EAU, AEDV, SILACO-GEER and EAMHID congresses. Another interesting driver of performance is the current supply-demand dynamic. A moratorium on new hotels is limiting supply (+0.9%), while demand increased by 5.5% for the first eight months of 2019.