Wednesday 28 August 2013

London’s hotels were almost full in the middle of this year’s August bank holiday weekend which also saw a rise in occupancy levels for the third year in a row.

The good weather, a host of attractions and events in the capital and a continuing post-Olympics boom showed a 94.4% peak on Saturday night.

The figures just in from STR Global show the following percentage occupancy levels for each day over the bank holiday weekend for 2013 and the previous two years.

The figures demonstrate a consistent growth in visitors staying in London hotels for the August holiday weekend from 2011 to 2012 and a further growth for hoteliers for this year – one year on from the Olympic and Paralympic games.

The growing visitor trend is supported by International Passenger Survey (IPS) figures released earlier this year showing a record number of tourists from overseas visiting London in the first three months of 2013 – a 4.2% growth on the same period last year.    

The figures also follow on from the release of the London Attractions Monitor which has seen a 13.8% increase in attendance at London’s tourist attractions in the period March to May 2013.

Attendance at the 33 attractions surveyed by London Partners including the British Museum, London Eye, National Gallery, Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral increased by a 22% in May, a big rise after an 0.7% increase in April and an equally outstanding 22% rise in March.

Julie Chappell, Director of Consumer Marketing and Digital Channels at London Partners said:

“The weather has been kind to London visitors this summer but even so, another rise on hotel occupancy for the third year in a row shows that London is growing as a hugely popular destination for tourists.”

She added: “The figures this year show that London is still seeing a very positive post-Olympic momentum and London Partners is working hard to capitalise on the Olympic legacy and continue to grow visitor numbers this year and into the future.”

Average hotel occupancy rates in London over the August Bank Holiday weekend:

The hotel occupancy figures are taken from STR Global and visitor figures are taken from the Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey and are provisional. Further analysis of the figures is available on the VisitBritain website. 

http://www.visitbritain.org/insightsandstatistics/inboundvisitorstatistics/latestdata/index.aspx

Notes to Editors

London Attractions Monitor

Based on figures from 33 London attractions, London Partners publishes the London Attractions Monitor every month, giving an overview of the current state of London’s visitor attractions.

For more information on London attractions visit www.visitlondon.com