Hotels within the European Union saw an average RevPar growth of 5.6 per cent during 2011, with Poland, the UK, France, Germany and Benelux all seeing the strongest growth, according to European Cities Marketing’s hospitality results.

Increased occupancy combined with a growth in average daily rates helped secure the increased RevPar – and no country in the Union closed the year with a downturn figure. Switzerland saw the slowest growth at 0.4 per cent, while Poland topped the tables with a 9.4 per cent growth.

With an average European occupancy rate higher than 66 per cent, hotel occupancy gained two points over 2010, which was already in a strong recovery over the economic crisis of 2009. Amsterdam, Berlin, Ghent, Hamburg, Munich, Paris and Zurich, all saw occupancy rates above 75 per cent, while London saw occupancy average out at  85 per cent.  At the bottom of the table, Spanish cities (Saragossa, Seville) and Italian ones (Bologna) reflect the difficulty of the national markets.

ECM (European Cities Marketing) is the European association of city tourism offices and convention bureaux, representing 125 members across 100 major cities in 32 countries.