Annual hotel occupancy data for the 2014 calendar year – supplied by STR Global Ltd and released by Marketing Manchester – shows that Greater Manchester hotels have completed their strongest year for hotel occupancy since records began.
Manchester city centre achieved an average annual occupancy rate of 79%, building on the success of 2013 when rates matched a previous high record of 77%.
A new best was also achieved at a Greater Manchester level as the average annual occupancy reached 77%, up from 76% in 2013.
800 new hotel bedrooms
The news comes at an exciting time for the hotel industry as almost 800 new hotel bedrooms are set to be delivered across the city region in the next 12 months. New hotels include: Motel One (330 rooms), Innside by Melia (208), Hotel Football (138), Hotel Gotham (66) and King Street Townhouse (40).
Tourism calendar packed with new developments and drivers
Nick Brooks-Sykes, director of tourism at Marketing Manchester, said:
“There are a number of new hotel operators preparing to enter the market in 2015 and notably many of the city’s existing hotels are currently upgrading their facilities. This investment is very well-timed as the tourism calendar is packed with new developments and drivers.
“We kick off with the reopening of the Whitworth in a couple of weeks; the opening of HOME follows in May; the Manchester International Festival and Manchester Pride’s 25th anniversary take place over the summer; Rugby World Cup comes to Manchester in October; and then before you know it the Manchester Christmas Markets will be back.”
“This is really good news for Greater Manchester and reflects the hard work of many organisations and people in developing and promoting our destination. But we cannot afford to be complacent: Manchester is competing for tourism on an international stage and competition is fierce. We must therefore continue to work together and make best use of our marketing resources to continue to grow the tourism industry of the region and which supports so many jobs.”
The city centre is defined as per Visit Manchester’s city centre map
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