Tourist sector buoyant as Scottish hotels benefit from staycations

Hotels north of the Border enjoyed a return to pre-recession occupancy and revenue levels as people chose Scotland for their Easter and bank holiday breaks.

Occupancy in Scottish hotels was up 7.7 per cent during April compared to the same month last year, according the latest report by accountant and business adviser PKF.

England and Wales saw rises of just 1.4 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively, according to the survey of three and four star hotels. Alastair Rae, a partner specialising in real estate and hospitality at PKF, said: "Easter, whilst long awaited, appears to have had a significant impact on the hospitality sector.

"The additional holiday for the royal wedding at the end of Easter week encouraged many to take the whole week off and this showed improved occupancy across the whole of the UK, but only in Scotland did revenue also improve substantially.

"These figures indicate that the sector continues to improve and, indeed, outperform the rest of the UK.

"There is considerable hope and expectation that the continued trend toward staycationing will benefit Scotland greatly this summer."

Rooms yield - the industry measure of revenue - rose 6.8 per cent in Scotland year-on-year, but was down 1.9 per cent in England and up only 0.4 per cent in Wales.

Within Scotland, Edinburgh led the way, with both occupancy levels and revenues soaring by 12.1 per cent.

Rae said: "Edinburgh remains the jewel in the crown for the sector and the continuing announcement of substantial growth in the hospitality sector in the city is testament to investors' confidence in the market.

"However, Aberdeen is also bouncing back and Glasgow continues to pro-actively attract visitors."

Rae said Edinburgh had a "booming" April with numbers not seen since pre-recession days.

At 80 per cent, the occupancy figure for the capital was actually higher than April 2007, while room yield was at a very similar level as four years ago.

Occupancy and revenue rose by 3.9 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively in Glasgow.In Aberdeen the figures increased by 0.4 per cent and 1.6 per cent year-on-year.

The extra bank holiday and late Easter meant April this year enjoying considerable advantages over the same month in 2010, and there were fears that hard pressed consumers might tighten their belts after over-spending during the period.

But Colin Paton, chairman of Edinburgh Hotels Association, said occupancy rates in the capital had improved further in May, with the weak pound encouraging Brits to holiday domestically and making the UK attractive to European travellers.

He said: "There was a concern during April that May would be very tough, but occupancy levels are up slightly, certainly in Edinburgh.

"Given all the holidays in April, it's very impressive that May has been so strong."

Paton, who runs the Portland Hotels chain, said the internet had changed the leisure market, with customers booking late and looking for bargains. He said that prices had been forced down, even in the capital, but the rise in occupancy rates meant that the average yield per room was still up.

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, said the figures reinforced a feeling within the industry that Scottish tourism was starting to turn a corner.

"We're hopeful about the season ahead," he said. "It is clear that Scotland still has an enduring appeal for visitors, in particular the staycation market."