West beats east for hotels as business fuels booming trade

Published on Wednesday 2 May 2007 00:15

GLASGOW'S booming hotel trade is growing faster than its rival Edinburgh.

Statistics published today show room bookings in Scotland's biggest city grew by 13.4 per cent during the first quarter of 2007, while the capital recorded an increase of only 5.6 per cent.

The accountancy firm Deloitte in Scotland says hotels in Glasgow are filling more rooms than ever before and the figures suggest the city could soon eclipse Edinburgh.

Fiona Salzen, travel and leisure partner for Deloitte in Scotland, said: "The strong start reflects the confidence in the city from both the business community and tourists from around the globe.

"The ability to successfully host major events stands Glasgow in good stead ahead of the Commonwealth Games bid announcement later this year. Overall, it's good news for Scotland, with significant growth in Aberdeen and the continuing positive results in Edinburgh an indication of Scotland's growing reputation as a great place to visit or do business.

"Within this, Glasgow has established itself as a vibrant city which has so much to offer and hopefully the city's hotels will continue to enjoy growth."

Deloitte reported Glasgow's rapid growth is linked to high-profile conferences which continue to lure business people.

Scott Taylor, the chief executive of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said: "These figures match what we have been witnessing. And our forecasts suggest that growth will double because Glasgow's market is growing at such a rate. Glasgow continues to grow while other cities around Europe are experiencing a fall in demand."

Glasgow has about 9,000 hotel rooms within a ten-mile radius of the city centre and there is a similar number in and around Edinburgh.

A string of new hotels is also planned for Glasgow. It emerged last weekend that plans for the biggest hotel complex in Scotland have taken a major step forward.

The former Albany Hotel in Bothwell Street is to be demolished and two new ones will be built in a 100 million deal.

The study also showed a night in a Glasgow hotel is still much cheaper than spending a night in the capital. The average cost of a Glasgow hotel room is 62, compared to 74 in Edinburgh and 112 in London.

The growth in Glasgow's hotel market comes at a time when the UK industry is flourishing.

Marvin Rust, hospitality managing partner for Deloitte, said: "The outlook for UK hotels in 2007 is very positive. A number of UK cities have experienced a strong start to the year, building on the growth achieved in 2006."