Informations Rapides · 16 February 2023 · n° 39

In Q4 2022, collective tourist attendance was 2.0% higher than its Q4 2019 level Tourism occupancy in hotels, campsites and holiday and other short-stay accommodation in metropolitan France - fourth quarter 2022

In France, in the fourth quarter of 2022, occupancy in collective accommodation except for campsites, measured in overnight stays, was 2.0% higher than its Q4 2019 level. Attendance exceeded its end of 2019 level in both hotels (+1.4%) and holiday and other short-stay accommodations (HOSSA, +4.1%).

In the fourth quarter of 2022, hotel occupancy was higher than its pre-crisis level for the second consecutive quarter. Hotel attendance was up by 1.4% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, leading to 660,000 additional overnight stays. As it was throughout the year, hotel occupancy by resident customers was higher than its pre-crisis level (+0.4%, nearly 120,000 additional overnight stays). The number of non-resident customers exceeded its 2019 level for the first time since the health crisis (+3.6%, 540,000 additional overnight stays). While resident customers still accounted for two-thirds of hotel attendance, non-resident customers mainly contributed to the increase in hotel occupancy.

As in the previous quarter, upscale hotels mostly benefited from the improvement in hotel occupancy. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, the number of overnight stays increased by 5.1% in 3-star hotels, and by 9.9% in 4 and 5 star hotels. In these upscale hotels, attendance by both residents and non-residents was higher than before the sanitary crisis.

On the other hand, attendance remained below its Q4 2019 level in 1 and 2 star hotels (-6.8%), despite the return of non-resident customers. It also was lower in unclassified hotels (-14.7%), which suffered from the disaffection of both resident and non-resident customers.

Hotel occupancy was 3.7% higher in Île-de-France compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, representing 640,000 additional overnight stays. The area mainly benefited from non-resident customers coming back (+8.6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 770,000 overnight stays), which offsets more than the drop of resident customers (-1.6%, 130,000 fewer overnight stays).

Overnight stays were also higher than before crisis in coastline hotels (+4.5% or 290,000 more overnight stays than in the fourth quarter of 2019), despite a sharp drop in attendance by non-resident customers (-9.8%). Hotel occupancy was also sustained, but to a lesser degree, in ski mountain areas (+3.3%), which benefited from the increased presence of both resident and non-resident customers.

On the other hand, occupancy declined in provincial urban areas (-2.0% or 350,000 fewer overnight stays than in the fourth quarter of 2019) and overseas departments (-1.2%). In those areas, the increase in domestic attendance failed to offset the sharp decline in non-resident customers attendance.

Business attendance remained below its pre-crisis level (-6.9%). However, it still represents almost half of hotel occupancy. The drop in business overnight stays remained very significant in Île-de-France (-15.7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019), strongly penalizing hotel occupancy’s recovery in this area. With nearly 1.4 million fewer business overnight stays than in Q4 2019, the Île-de-France area accounted for 80% of the decrease in business overnight stays.

On the rise since the beginning of the year, non-resident customers' occupancy in hotels in metropolitan France exceeded in Q4 2022 its Q4 2019 level. Overnight stays by non-resident tourists in hotels in metropolitan France were thus higher by 4.0% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. On the other hand, attendance by resident customers only increased by 0.3% over the period.

Attendance from European countries strongly contributed to this rise. In particular, British customers, whose attendance had been in decline since the health crisis, came back in metropolitan France hotels. British overnight stays increased by 16.7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, a period in which British attendance was rather down. Customers from Germany, Belgium and Netherlands were less numerous than the British, but their attendance in metropolitan France hotels were higher than in 2019, contributing to hotel attendance’s dynamism.

On the other hand, attendance by non-European customers struggled to recover its Q4 2019 level. Customers from the United States almost came back to their Q4 2019 level (-1.2% compared to Q4 2019), but other customers, specially from Asia, still did not returned in metropolitan France (-14.8%).

In holiday and other short-stay accommodations (HOSSA) in metropolitan France, attendance exceeded its 2019 level (+4.1%) for the first time in 2022. In tourist residences in particular, the increase in resident attendance (+5.4%) offset the decline in non-resident overnight stays (-3.2%).

Attendance in HOSSA increased in all territories in the fourth quarter. In Île-de-France (+8.0%) and ski mountain areas (+6.7%), both resident and non-resident customers were more numerous than in 2019. Yet, in coastline HOSSA, attendance by non-residents remained down compared to before the crisis. This decline was more than offset by sustained resident attendance. Thus, overnight stays were 7.2% higher in coastline HOSSA compared to before the crisis.