All hotels in Reunion Island have recorded a decrease in overnight stays in 2018. With a total of 1,196,100 overnight stays, bookings and reservations have dropped by 1% compared to 2017. Social movements at the end of the year, bad weather at the beginning of the year and the closure of some hotels have had a negative impact on local tourism. However, bookings continue to increase in hotels in the West.
After three years of continuous increase, the hotel attendance fell slightly compared to 2017 (-1%) which was a record year. However, it remains higher than in 2016 (1,196,100 overnight stays in 2018).
The social movements at the end of the year led to reservations being canceled. The bad weather at the beginning of the year also affected tourism in Cilaos and in the South. Finally, the decrease in hotel attendance is also due to the closure of institutions with several dozen rooms.
Despite an increase in attendance in the first three quarters compared to the same periods in 2017, hotel attendance fell sharply at the end of 2018 (-12% in November and -17% in December compared to the same months in 2017).
The majority of guests stayed in medium and high-end hotels: three-quarters of hotel nights were spent in 3, 4 or 5-star hotels. The increase in the number of visitors to 3-star hotels (+6%) is mainly due to the entry of new establishments into the category. Attendance is also increasing in 4 and 5 stars hotels (+4%).
On the other hand, unrated hotels are less successful (-25%). Numbers of overnight stays also fell in 1 or 2-star hotels (-7%), mainly due to a lower number of rooms in these hotels.
Hotel attendance dropped by 8% in the Northeast, where the number of rooms on offer decreased. Attendance also dropped in hotels in the South (-4%), which were not spared from bad weather in the first quarter. On the other hand, hotels in the West are doing well, with attendance up by 4%.
With 67% of rooms occupied, the attendance rate increased by 2 points compared to 2017. This trend is explained by a greater decrease in the availability of rooms (-4%) than in the number of rooms occupied (-1%).
French customers, which include local visitors, still account for the vast majority (86% of overnight stays). The number of overnight stays of customers living in Reunion Island fell considerably (-7%), unlike the number of customers from other French divisions (+4%).
On the other hand, hotel attendance by foreign customers is stable after a sharp increase in 2017. Three-quarters of foreign customers are from Europe. While attendance by European customers is increasing significantly (+12%), that of African nationals is falling sharply (-25%).
In 2018, the average length of stay in a hotel in Reunion Island remained stable at 2.1 days. While it is higher for foreign customers or those in other French divisions (around 2.5 days), it is less than 2 days for Reunion Island visitors. It stands at 2.6 days for foreign customers and 2 days for French customers.