In May, the number of guests in hotels and guesthouses increased by a fifth year-on-year, but still did not reach the numbers just before the pandemic

In May, Slovak accommodation establishments lacked the high pre-pandemic values by 14% of visitors of the tourist record year 2019. Bratislavský, Žilinský and Prešovský kraj attracted the most guests.

The total number of visitors to Slovak tourism accommodation establishments  in May 2023 reached almost 500 000 people. In a year-on-year comparison, hotels, guesthouses and other accommodation establishments had by 20.5% more guests. It was still 77 000 visitors less than in the same month before the pandemic (May 2019). Visitors spent almost 1.2 million nights in tourism establishments, which was by 19% more than a year ago. The average length of stay was 2.4 nights. The higher increase in accommodation indicators was mainly influenced by the lower comparison base from May 2022, when guests slowly returned to accommodation establishments after the two-year COVID-19 pandemic.

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Almost two-thirds of the accommodated, i.e. 303 000 people, were domestic visitors. Their number increased year-on-year by more than a tenth, compared to the pre-Covid May 2019, only by less than 8% of domestic visitors were missing. The only region where more domestic guests arrived than before the pandemic was Bratislavský kraj. Žilinský, Prešovský and Bratislavský kraj recorded the highest domestic visit rate by default. Together, these three regions represented almost two thirds of the domestic visitors.

At the same time, 173 000 foreign visitors used accommodation services in Slovakia in May, which was a 38% year-on-year increase in the number of visitors. The number increased year-on-year in all regions. The highest increase, by more than half of the visitors, was recorded by Prešovský kraj. Foreign guests recorded significant drops during the pandemic and Slovakia is slowly returning to normal. In the fifth month, the number of foreigners was comparable to 2019 only in Trnavský kraj. The most foreigners visited Bratislava (80 000), Žilina (23 000) and Prešov (18 000) regions. Together, these three regions represented 70% of the total foreign visitors.

In total, for the first five months of 2023, more than 1.6 million guests stayed in tourism establishments. This is a 13% year-on-year increase. Compared to the corresponding period in 2019, more than a quarter (27%) were still missing. The number of foreigners increased by a third year-on-year, domestic visit rate was comparable (increase by 4%).