AHRS: Number of Guests in Slovak Hotels Not Reaching Pre-pandemic Figures Yet

Bratislava, February 20 (TASR) - The number of visitors to accommodation facilities in Slovakia hasn't reached the level of 2019 even four years after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the Association of Slovak Hotels and Restaurants (AHRS) stated on Tuesday in reaction to data published by the Statistics Office last week. Although the number of visitors grew almost by one fifth last year, hotels and similar facilities lacked approximately 400,000 foreign and 300,000 domestic guests to match the pre-pandemic year of 2019. "Developments in tourism were mainly marked by the return of foreign clientele, with more than 2 million foreign tourists staying in Slovak hotels in 2023. The best visitor figures were posted in 2023 by Bratislava and Zilina regions, with approximately 1.3 million tourists each. Presov region came in third," said AHRS general manager Martin Novotny, adding that the number of overnight stays still lags behind 2019. AHRS noted that the highest number of tourists visited resorts in the Low and High Tatras, with domestic guests making up the majority of the clientele. Concerning foreign guests, Slovakia was mostly visited by tourists from the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and Romania last year. Compared to the previous year, there was a significant growth in the number of visitors from Poland, Lithuania and Slovenia. "The dynamic growth in the number of visitors from traditional as well as new destinations, naturally, pleases us," stated Novotny, adding that the continuous building of our country's brand abroad is proving to be crucial. ko/mcs