The report provides detailed market analysis, information and insights, including:
– Historic and forecast tourist volumes covering the entire Slovakian travel and tourism sector
– Detailed analysis of tourist spending patterns in Slovakia for various categories in the travel and tourism sector, such as accommodation, sightseeing and entertainment, foodservice, transportation, retail, travel intermediaries and others
– Detailed market classification across each category, with analysis using similar metrics
– Detailed analysis of the airline, hotel, car rental and travel intermediaries industries
Summary
During the review period (2008-2012), tourist volumes in Slovakia increased, driven primarily by government initiatives to promote tourism. The country?s inbound tourist volumes increased by 4.8% in 2012 and are expected to record growth over the forecast period (2013-2017) at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.20%. However, government expenditure on tourism is relatively low, and accounted for only 2.3% of the nation?s total GDP in 2012, valuing US$2.2 billion. In comparison, neighboring countries such as Austria and France allocated US$18.4?billion and US$99.9 billion respectively.
Scope
This report provides an extensive analysis related to tourism demand and flows in Slovakia:
– It details historical values for the Slovakian tourism sector for 2008?2012, along with forecast figures for 2013?2017
– It provides comprehensive analysis of the travel and tourism demand factors with values for both the 2008?2012 review period and the 2013?2017 forecast period
– The report provides a detailed analysis and forecast of domestic, inbound and outbound tourist flows in Slovakia.
– It provides comprehensive analysis of the trends in Airline, Hotel, Car Rental and Travel intermediaries industry with values for both the 2008?2012 review period and the 2013?2017 forecast period
Key Highlights
– Slovakia?s real GDP is expected to grow at a slower pace of 0.7% in 2013, before recovering to 2.5% in 2014, as improving external demand in Europe is likely to offset the weaker investments and marginal slowdown in consumption. Over 2015-2017, the country?s average GDP growth is projected to measure 4.5%, as domestic and external economic conditions improve.
– Slovakia?s historical monuments showcase the traditions and culture of the country. These include Bardejov and Bansk? ?tiavnica, which feature in the UNESCO list, Spi? Castle, the biggest castle in central Europe, and Vlkol?nec Village with its wooden houses and churches. Other natural treasures included in the UNESCO list are the caves in Slovak Paradise and Oak Primaeval Forest in north-east Slovakia. In addition, Ko?ice was named European Capital of culture 2013, which is an added advantage for the city and the country.
– The Slovensk? agent?ra pre cestovn? ruch (SACR) promotes Slovakia domestically through media campaigns, promotional banners on websites and newspaper advertisements, to highlight the country?s leading tourist attractions. The cycle of Slovakia?s media campaigns generally runs from before the beginning of the summer and winter months to take advantage of traditional holiday seasons. The government is also promoting business tourism, as this provides a lucrative revenue source.
– The Czech Republic has traditionally been the leading source country for inbound tourists to Slovakia, accounting for 40% of the total international arrivals in 2012. The Slovakian government has been actively involved in promoting the country as an international tourist destination by making infrastructural improvements to cultural monuments, national parks and other attractions. With these initiatives, the level of inbound tourism is expected to register a forecast-period CAGR of 2.20%, to reach 1.7 million visits in 2017.
– According to the Slovak Statistics Office (SU), the most popular destination in 2012 was Croatia, with 116,784 trips, followed by Turkey with 90,295 and Bulgaria with 56,790. According to a European Commission report in March 2013, 50% of Slovaks did not take a holiday in 2012 due to lack of finances, 21% did not travel for personal reasons, and 11% preferred to stay at home with family and friends. Just 5% of Slovaks did not go on holiday because of work, and 6% cited a lack of time.
– Slovakia?s airline market is expected to see a growth in the LCC segment with Ryanair?s expansion. Including Norwegian Air Shuttle, LCCs account for 80% of the nation?s seat capacity. The country?s aviation market will record growth over the forecast period. Ryanair has indicated its aim to establish a base at Bratislava Ivanka Airport.
– The number of hotel establishments in Slovakia increased during the review period, a trend which is anticipated to continue over the forecast period. This will lead to a demand for hotel services and a rise in room occupancy rates.
– Car rentals in Slovakia are directly dependent on the performance of airlines. Charter flights and LLCs dominated the aviation market in 2012, and contributed little to car rental revenues. Slovakians are not generally used to renting cars, and inbound arrivals and business customers are the main customers.
– Four travel agencies, Tip Tour, A-Tour, Best Choice and Medina Tours, went bankrupt in 2013. Conflict in Arab nations and weak economic growth were among the leading causes. Many agencies also offer similar products in a small market. Agencies with sufficient financial reserves and those which did not focus on North Africa continued to grow and did not suffer from the crisis.
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