26 February 2015

2015- n° 43

In Q4 2014, the decline in tourism nights continued (-1.2% year to year). Tourism occupancy in hotels, campsites and holiday and other short-stay accommodation in metropolitan France - 4th quarter 2014

In the fourth quarter 2014, the number of overnight stays decreased by 1.2% compared to the same period in 2013, for all tourism collective accommodation throughout metropolitan France .

Hotel occupancy declined year-on-year for the fifth consecutive quarter (–1.0% year-on-year in the fourth quarter 2014 after –1.6% the previous quarter), driven by the drop in French customers. On the contrary, stays of foreign customers increased compared to the same quarter of 2013 (+0.7%).

The continuation of the classification process led to a change in the park structure, which particularly affected the number of tourism nights in unclassified hotels (–14.1% year-on-year after –10.5% in the previous quarter). In contrast, stays in classified hotels increased. Overnight stays in 1 and 2 stars rose slightly (+0.6%). The rise was more vivid in mid-range (3 stars) hotels (+1.9%) and higher (4 and 5 stars) category hotels (+1.6%), mainly due to foreign customers (respectively +2,6% and +2.9%).

Overnight stays decreased, the number of rented rooms increased slightly, the number of tourists per room dropping more. The occupancy rate also rose (+0.2 points year-on-year, to 55% in the fourth quarter 2014).

In the fourth quarter 2014, stays in holiday and other short-stay accommodation (HOSSA) continued to decline, but at a slower pace (–2.0% after –4.8% the previous quarter). In this segment also, the fall is attributable to French customers, while the number of overnight stays increased for foreign customers (+2.4%).

Tourism nights fell in all types of accommodation, but particularly in holiday villages and family homes (–8,4%).

The number of nights spent in tourism or hotel residences weakened slightly (–0.9% in the fourth quarter of 2014, after –3.1% in the previous quarter), in line with that of hotels.

The number of accommodation rentals in HOSSA declined less strongly than the supply of accommodation. Thus, the occupancy rate rose in the fourth quarter of 2014 (+1.2 points year-on-year, to 51.6%).

In the fourth quarter of 2014, the number of overnight stays in hotels was down in all tourist areas. In the Paris agglomeration, the decline of the hotel industry (–1.2%) was more pronounced than in other urban areas. It contrasts with the sharp increase in HOSSA (+8.5%). This differentiated trends continued for over a year and seemed to reflect some form of customer shift, mostly foreign, from traditional hotels to tourist residences.

In October 2014, the number of overnight stays increased compared to October 2013 mainly in hotels and mostly in tourist residences, probably because of favorable weather conditions. Then in November, stays in hotels and HOSSA decreased. Night spent rebounded in hotels in December 2014 compared to December 2013.