Wales tourism accommodation occupancy surveys: 2021

Main points

2021 started with temporary closures across businesses in the accommodation sector with COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in place. There continued to be a significant impact on both domestic and international tourism. In Wales, accommodation was affected across all sub sectors although not to the extent seen in 2020. 

Serviced accommodation

In 2021, room occupancy overall was 64%. Meanwhile, bedspace occupancy, the proportion of available bedspaces sold, was 44%. These levels were below pre-pandemic levels of performance but marked a significant improvement compared with 2020.

The annual room and bedspace occupancy across the guesthouse/B&B sector was 60% and 50% respectively, almost double that seen in 2020.

Self-catering accommodation

In contrast to the hotels and guesthouse/B&B’s, occupancy levels in the self-catering sector during 2021 continued to record high levels of occupancy. Unit occupancy was 61%, an upturn of 9 percentage points on the previous year.

The average unit occupancy between May and October was 81%, a rise of 7 percentage points on 2020. 

Holiday park and campsite sector

In 2021 the seasonal average (May to October) for static caravans and holiday homes reached 94%, up 5 percentage points on 2020 (89%) and the highest level achieved over in the period under review.

Wales hostels and bunkhouses

The annual average bedspace occupancy in 2021 was 37% an increase in occupancy levels of 12 percentage points when compared to 2020 (25%).