UK Accounts For 17% Of Europe’s New Hotels As Accor, Hilton Lead

The United Kingdom is leading the European Tourism sector, accounting for 17 percent of new hotels on the continent in 2022.

 

The industry is slowly recovering from the devastating impact of Covid-19, with international tourist arrivals reaching half of the pre-pandemic levels in 2022.

 

Data from TradingPlatforms.com shows new investments are on the rise and the United Kingdom is building 17 percent of new hotels in 2022, making it the largest market for hotel construction in Europe.

 

The COVID-19 crisis has hit the UK hotel industry hard, with devastating effects on jobs and businesses. Statista and Lodging Econometrics data shows that the country is expected to see $17.1bn in hotel revenues this year, nearly 80 percent more than in 2021 but still 10 percent less than before the pandemic. The number of hotel users is still 15 percent lower than three years ago, with 28.4 million in 2022, down from 33.6 million in 2019.

 

And while the country struggles to recover revenue and user figures to pre-pandemic levels, new hotel investments have turned the UK into a leader of Europe’s hotel construction race. Statistics show the UK has a larger market share than Germany.

 

The world’s third largest tourism industry, behind the United States and China, is building 15 percent of new hotels in Europe in 2022. France ranked as the third-largest hotel construction market with a 9 percent share. Portugal and Poland round the top five list with 7 percent and 5 percent share, respectively.

 

The Statista and Lodging Econometrics data also recovered that only four hotel chains are building half of Europe’s new hotels.

 

The largest hospitality company in Europe, the French Accor, accounts for 16 percent of Europe’s hotel construction. Two American hotel chains, Hilton and Marriott, are each building 12 percent of new hotels, and Intercontinental Hotels Group follows with a 9 percent market share. Overall, big chain hotels are adding rooms faster than independent hotels in Europe.

 

Between 2015 and 2021, the market share of independent hotels in Europe slipped from 63 percent to 6 percent. The lost market share was taken up by chain hotels which now enjoy two-fifths of the overall market share. Statistics show independent hotels had around 2.55 million rooms in 2021, while chain hotels numbered 1.72 million.