In April, hotelier revenue fell 9.1%

After the exit of the two low cost airlines from the market, the other actors in the chain are feeling the effects of this situation which led to the rise in ticket prices, especially in destinations that stopped operating.

(More news: Medellín – San Andrés, the new Avianca route)

In fact, for April the annual drop in passengers fell 21%, according to data from the Civil Aeronautics.

Now this dynamic falls on the shoulders of hoteliers who see their numbers drop as they do not receive the same number of tourists to their destinations.

According to the latest Monthly Accommodation Survey of the Administrative Department, Dane, in April the real income of these companies fell 9.1% annually.

The case is more critical in San Andrés and Providencia, where revenues dropped to 42.9% in the fourth month of the year.

(Read: El Niño would hit the productivity of Bogotá and Medellín harder)

In the other tourist destinations the variation was also negative and in double digits.
For example, in Santander revenues fell 18%, in the Gulf of Morrosquillo and Sabana 17.9%, in the Coffee Region and the Caribbean 15.9%, in the Llanos – Orinoquía 14.5% and in the Pacific 10.9 %.

The other regions that experienced a decrease in their income were Cartagena with 5.4%, the Central zone with 8.6%, Antioquia with 3.4% and Amazonia with 3.0%. The only destination with an increase in its income was the city of Bogotá with 7.3%.

The reason for this sharp decrease in revenue is derived from a pronounced drop in hotel occupancy to 48.9%, while in April 2022 the percentage was 54.8%.

The main reason for travel in April 2023 was leisure, contributing 28.4 points to the occupancy rate.

In the case of the largest hotels (with more than 150 rooms), occupancy was registered this month at 56.3%, the lowest since December 2020, the year of the pandemic.
In the case of hotels with 101 to 150 rooms, the figure reached 56.5%, an average figure compared to other Aprils of previous years.

(See: Colombia gains ground in receptive tourism)

In rooms with 51 to 100 rooms, occupancy fell to 47.9%, a figure similar to the year of economic recovery, that is, 2021.

Lastly, in the smallest lodging establishments, with fewer than 50 rooms, hotel occupancy fell even more than in the other segments to 40.9%, the lowest in the year.

Hotels

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By cities, In Bogotá, for April 2023 the occupancy percentage was 59.2%, in April 2022 this percentage was 56.4%.

The main reason for travel was business, contributing 30.5 points to the occupancy rate.

In Cartagena, the occupancy percentage was 63.1%, and in the same month of 2022 this percentage was 71.8%. The main reason for travel was leisure, contributing 48.3 points to the occupancy percentage.

Likewise, in the Central Region the occupancy percentage was 37.4%, in April 2022 this percentage was 40.3%. The main reason for travel in April 2023 was leisure, contributing 25.4 points to the occupancy percentage.

(More news: Colombia, third country in America to recover tourism after pandemic)

Although the sector has alerted every month about the difficulty of retaining and maintaining personnel, the panorama seems to see a light at the end of the tunnel, leaving behind the difficulties of 2021.

This is judging by the April figures revealed by Dane, in which employed personnel increased 11.8%, a moderate recovery streak after increases of up to 30% as in April 2022.

PAULA ANDREA GALEANO BALAGUERA
Portfolio Journalist