Bulgaria with Highest Hotel Occupancy Rate in EU in June 2012

Bulgaria topped the Eurostat ranking for net occupancy rates in hotels and similar establishments in June 2012, scoring 89.4%. Photo by dariknews.bg

In June 2012, Bulgaria topped the Eurostat ranking for net occupancy rates in hotels and similar establishments, scoring 89.4%.

According to Eurostat data on net occupancy rates in hotels and similar establishments in June 2012, Bulgaria is followed by Cyprus with an occupancy rate of 77.4%, Malta with 75.7%, and the host of the 2012 summer Olympic Games, the United Kingdom with 72%.

According to the Statistical Office of the EU, even well-developed tourist destinations like France and Spain registered occupancy rates of 69% and 60.9%, respectively, in June 2012.

The lowest occupancy rates were registered in Slovakia, at 33.7%, Romania, at 35.3%, and Poland, at 44%.

Compared with June 2011, net occupancy rates of bed places in the European Union decreased by 2.5 percentage points in June 2012.

During the period January - June 2012, net occupancy rates of bed places in the EU recorded a decrease (-0.5 percentage points) compared with the same period of the previous year.

In four EU Member States (Latvia, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Germany) an increase of more than 1,0 percentage point was observed, while the national figures of Italy, Portugal, Sweden and Romania, showed a decrease of more than 1,0 percentage point in the first six months of 2012 compared with 2011.

According to Eurostat, the EU is a major tourist destination, with six Member States among the world's top ten destinations for holidaymakers.

Eurostat concludes that tourism is an important activity in the EU which has the potential to contribute towards employment and economic growth, as well as to development in rural, peripheral or less-developed areas.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute (NSI) reports around 4.8 million overnight stays at Bulgarian tourist accommodation establishments in August 2012, of which 3.5 million booked by foreigners.

Around 1 million people, including 780 000 foreigners, used accommodation sites in Bulgaria during the peak month of the summer tourist season.

Revenues from overnight stays amounted to around BGN 200 million, of which BGN 158 million by foreigners.

According to NSI data, nearly 5 million people, half of them foreigners, stayed at Bulgarian hotels and other accommodation establishments in 2011.

Revenues from overnight stays for 2011 amounted to over BGN 730 million, BGN 520 million by foreigners.

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