Hospitality statistics in Q4 2020 show huge impact of Covid-19 “second wave”

Recent statistics published by Eurostat for turnover for accommodation and food service activities in Q4 2020 show the drastic impact of COVID-19 induced measures restricting tourism and the opening of hospitality establishments.

While figures in Q3 2020 pointed at a very slight recovery for the sector, its turnover in Q4 2020 was less than half of what it was during the same period in 2019 in the EU27, with a 50,2% drop.

Aggregated sectoral employment figures for Q4 2020 in the EU27 are not available yet, but national figures also show the impact of the crisis on jobs. Almost 400,000 fewer jobs and a drop of almost 25% were recorded in Spain for example when comparing Q4 2019 to Q4 2020.

Figures provided by hotel market experts MKG to HOTREC show that after a month of November that continued to be marked by a relapse, and the tightening of sanitary measures, December also proved to be a difficult month for the hotel industry in Europe. Still dealing with the “second wave” of the COVID 19 pandemic, the continent remained under strict sanitary measures, although the effects and severity of these policies have somewhat stabilized across the region.

In Europe, hotel occupancy rates in December 2020 continued to be very low yet slightly higher than in the previous month, reaching 16,2% (-45,6 points compared to December 2019). The average daily rate slightly increased from November as it reached €77 excluding taxes (-25,3% compared to the previous year). European RevPAR thus amounted to only €12,6 excluding VAT, a drop of 80,4 % compared to the level recorded in December 2019.