Even before the attack on Istanbul’s airport in late June
and the failed coup attempt last weekend, Turkey’s hotel business was slumping
badly in the first six months of the year.
According to hotel data research firm STR, Istanbul’s revenue per
available room was about $54 per night through June, a 40% plunge from a year
earlier, and occupancy sunk 17 percentage points, to 49%.
June has been the worst month of the year so far, with
RevPAR plunging 59%, to $39, and occupancy down 26 points, to 40%.
Bombings occurred in Istanbul
in January, March and June, and in Ankara in February and March. A bombing outside
the Ankara railway station last October killed 103 and injured 500.
In comparison to Turkey’s hotel stats, RevPAR for the first
half of the year fell 13% and 9%, respectively, in Belgium and France, two
countries plagued by Islamic attacks.
Through June, Europe’s RevPAR was little changed, as Spain
and Portugal rose while France and Belgium fell.
___
Correction: The STR hotel stats are for Istanbul, not all of Turkey.