Tourist Traffic in the City of Rijeka For the Period Between 2004 and 2014

Transcription

1 Tourist Traffic in the City of Rijeka For the Period Between 2004 and 2014 Rijeka, February 2015.

2 Table of Contents Pg No. 1. Introduction 3 2. Physical indicators on an annual level Structure and accommodation capacity Total arrivals of domestic and foreign tourists Total overnight stays of domestic and foreign tourists Total arrivals and overnight stays by country of residence Total arrivals and overnight stays by type of accommodation Age groups in total arrivals and overnight stays Average visitor stay Financial indicators on an annual level Total tourism revenue Number of businesses by sector in tourism Total number of employees in the tourist sectors Analysis of the development of multi-year trends Conclusion 19 2

3 1. Introduction Currently the city of Rijeka offers 4 hotels, 1 B&B (lodging), 13 hostels, 1 student village, over 100 private landlords, and one campsite. Investments in tourist infrastructure and activities, expanding the tourist offer from year to year, have been responsible for increasingly better results achieved by the tourist workers. For the purposes of this analysis we addressed key physical indicators, such as total arrivals and overnight stays of domestic and foreign tourists, observed by the country of residence and by type of accommodation; the average stay of tourists and age groups in total arrivals and overnight stays. In order to show the financial impact of tourism on the economy of Rijeka, the analysis included total revenue, number of businesses, and number of employees for the three major sectors of the tourism industry (accommodation, preparation and service of food and drinks, travel agencies). A comparison of total revenue in tourism with the total number of overnight stays and comparison of total revenue with the total number of employees are also available and clearly point to the current trends in tourism. The studied period refers to a period of ten years, from 2004 to All physical indicators analysed in the analysis are taken from an internal database of the Rijeka Tourist Board. Financial indicators are taken from the Financial Agency (FINA) database with the last listed year being 2013, given that at the time of writing no data is available for The goal of the analysis is to objectively show tourist trends over several years in the city of Rijeka on the basis of which further development can be objectively planned, including new facilities and projects that will raise the overall quality of life in the city. 3

4 2. Physical Indicators 2.1. Structure and Accommodation Capacity Before analysing tourist arrivals and overnight stays, it is important to observe the development of accommodation facilities in the city of Rijeka as a basis for achieving positive tourist results from year to year. Over a ten-year period we have seen a steady progress in increasing the number of beds in all categories of accommodation except for B&Bs (lodgings), where with time there has been a structural change (Neboder Hotel was a B&B (lodging) until 2006; in 2008 the Rijeka B&B (lodging) closed). Other significant events that in the studied period affected the total number of beds include a complete renovation of Jadran Hotel (Best Western Jadran Hotel), the Neboder Hotel, and a renovation of Continental Hotel. Table 1. An overview of the number of beds by accommodation structure for the city of Rijeka in the period 2004 to Category Hotels Hostels Private Accommodation Camp B&Bs Student village 116 TOTAL BEDS 1,730 1,682 1,887 1,913 1,430 1,516 1,532 1,586 1,674 2,141 2,400 In the structure of accommodation facilities for 2014 we should point out private accommodation, which has the largest share in the total number of beds with 23.88%, surpassing hotels which have 23.08% of the total number of beds. These are followed by hostels with 17.88%, B&Bs (lodgings) with 15.75% and camps with a share of 14.58%. A new separate category of student village occupies 4.83%. Statistically interesting fact is that up until 2013 hotels were the most significant accommodation category in the number of beds, but the 4

5 accelerated development and investments in private accommodation in 2014 proved to be very favourable for the strong progress of the entire category. These changes in structure can be further traced by comparing the number of beds from 2014 to the base year 2004, where it is clear how the Rijeka tourist offer has progressed over the past ten years. Table 2. An overview of the number of beds by accommodation structure of the city of Rijeka (2014/2004). TYPE OF ACCOMMODATION Index (2014/2004) Hotels Hostels n/a Private Accommodation , Camp B&Bs Student village n/a TOTAL BEDS 2,400 1, In the period of ten years there have been significant changes in the structure of accommodation capacity, whereby in the city area there have been two new categories of accommodation developed - hostels, for which the development began in 2006, and a student village that opened in The highest increase in the number of beds was recorded in the private accommodation category, which in the studied period rose as much as 13 times compared to As can be seen from Table 2, hotels had a slight increase in capacity of 21.49%, the camp kept the same number of beds, and B&Bs (lodgings) decreased by 57.14% compared to the base year Total Arrivals of Domestic and Foreign Tourists on an Annual Level Actual tourist arrivals represent one of the most important categories according to which the performance of the tourist destination is validated. As an indicator it depends on a number of factors, such as the existing tourist offer and accommodation infrastructure, while it is also an important indicator of trends that are created throughout the years. Comparing the achieved annual results for the city of Rijeka to the previous year clearly highlights the positive growth 5

6 trend of the total number of arrivals despite the negative economic environment caused by the crisis. For the studied period of ten years the index shows that as many as six years were finished more successfully than the year before, two years maintained the same level of arrivals compared to the previous year (2009 and 2012), while two years showed a slight decline ( %; %). The largest annual increase in the total number of arrivals was achieved in 2006 ( %) and 2014 ( %), and 2007 should also be highlighted ( %) and so should 2013 (+ 9.48%). Progress is evident by comparing 2014 to the base year 2004, whereby the number of foreign tourist arrivals increased from 34,226 to 69,541, the number of domestic tourist arrivals increased from 19,665 to 21,176, and the total number of arrivals increased from 53,891 to an impressive 90,717. Table 3. An overview of domestic and foreign tourist arrivals in the period 2004 to Year Arrivals Index Foreign Domestic Total Foreign Domestic Total ,226 19,665 53, ,889 19,763 50, ,582 22,177 62, ,522 21,132 69, ,955 21,334 66, ,600 18,238 65, ,082 17,336 68, ,781 17,016 70, ,997 16,695 69, ,646 17,653 76, ,541 21,176 90, A positive overall long-term trend has emerged primarily through a strong influence of stable growth of foreign tourist arrivals, which in percentages form the largest proportion of all registered tourist arrivals (for 2014 as much as 76.66% compared to 23.34% of arrivals of domestic tourists). It should be noted that the number of arrivals of domestic tourists ranges between 17,000-22,000 per annum with a slight hint of creating a trend of growth over the past 6

7 three years. Illustration of movement of perennial trends of domestic and foreign tourist arrivals is located in the graph below. Graph 1. Trends in the number of domestic and foreign tourist arrivals in the period 2004 to Strani Foreign gosti visitors Domaći Domestic gosti visitors Ukupan Total number broj dolazaka of arrivals 2.3. Total Overnight Stays of Domestic and Foreign Tourists on an Annual Level The number of overnight stays is an important indicator of the quality of a tourist destination given that it indicates how much time the visitors spend in a particular area. The number of overnight stays is closely associated with the number of arrivals of domestic and foreign tourists, and shows a very similar long-term growth trend for the city of Rijeka, as can be seen from the table below. By comparing the chain indices for the number of overnight stays (the achieved annual results for the previous year), it is possible to detail the different impact of the economic crisis on the domestic and foreign visitors. Namely, in the studied period of ten years, foreign visitors have had more overnight stays for eight years out of ten compared to the previous year. The only exceptions were 2005 and 2008 when there was a decline in the number of overnight stays of 7

8 nearly 10%. The decline in the number of overnight stays is conditioned on the phases of the renovation of accommodation (Best Western Jadran Hotel, Continental Hotel, and Neboder Hotel) and in those years lower capacity growth of private accommodation was achieved. Table 4. An overview of domestic and foreign tourist overnight stays in the period 2004 to Year Overnight stays Index Foreign Domestic Total Foreign Domestic Total ,441 33, , ,750 33,466 99, ,838 38, , ,802 37, , ,990 37, , ,262 32, , ,381 31, , ,935 33, , ,016 33, , ,656 33, , ,238 41, , In early 2008, the economic crisis was increased in Croatia, and the purchasing power of the population decreased, which was reflected in a sharp downward trend in the number of overnight stays of domestic visitors in 2009 (-12.13%). After the initial decline, the number of overnight stays of domestic visitors was stabilised for a number of years at around 33,000 nights per year. A change in the existing trend of stagnation was suggested by a strong increase in 2014, when in the city of Rijeka tourism employees recorded 23.24% more overnight stays of domestic tourists, which on an annual basis surpassed the levels achieved before the crisis. The actual step forward in the quality is evident by comparing 2014 with the base year 2004 whereby the number of overnight stays of foreign tourists increased from 72,441 to 132,238, the number of domestic tourist arrivals increased from 33,355 to 41,311, and the total number of arrivals increased from 105,796 to a respectable 173,549 visitors. 8

9 Graph 2. Trends in the number of domestic and foreign tourist overnight stays in the period 2004 to Strani Foreign gosti visitors Domaći Domestic gosti visitors Ukupan Total number broj noćenja of overnight stays 2.4. Total Arrivals and Overnight Stays by the Country of Residence When it comes to foreign tourists, one of the most important issues in the analysis of trends is their country of residence. In a tourist regard, the city of Rijeka has been a traditionally attractive destination for many visitors from the surrounding countries, especially Italy. For the purposes of this overview aggregate tables were made of the top ten countries with the highest total number of arrivals and overnight stays in the past decade. Table 5. Top 10 countries by the total number of arrivals in the period 2004 to 2014 Country of Residence: The total number of arrivals 9 Index (2014/2004) Italy 99, Spain 43, Germany 43, France 43, Japan 21, United Kingdom 20, Austria 20, Slovenia 18,

10 Hungary 15, United States 13, As seen through a ten-year period the highest total number of arrivals and overnight stays was seen by the tourists from Italy, followed by a second group of countries, which includes Spain, Germany and France with a close number of arrivals (around 43,000). It should be noted that in the second group, the tourists from Germany stand out with a much larger number of overnight stays (over 85,000) compared to other countries. In addition to the above significant tourism markets for the city of Rijeka, tourists from Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Japan, and the United Kingdom are also important. Table 6. Top 10 countries by the total number of overnight stays in the period 2004 to 2014 Country of Residence: The total number of overnight stays Index (2014/2004) Italy 183, Germany 85, France 65, Spain 61, United Kingdom 44, Slovenia 43, Hungary 41, Austria 35, Japan 27, United States 26, Total Arrivals and Overnight Stays by Type of Accommodation Currently the city of Rijeka offers 4 hotels, 1 B&B (lodging), 13 hostels, 1 student village, over 100 private landlords, and one campsite. Traditionally the largest number of arrivals and overnight stays of domestic and foreign tourists is associated with accommodation in hotels. Table 7. The structure of total arrivals by type of accommodation in the period 2004 to 2014 Accommodation Hotel 46,901 45,235 49,142 54,683 53,005 49,911 51,242 53,110 50,920 50,818 51,958 Camp 5,680 5,037 5,717 7,178 7,284 7,076 7,048 7,006 8,161 12,871 4,968 Private Accommodation 1, ,363 5,599 3,237 5,970 7,041 6,900 6,240 6,608 10,405 Hostels 0 0 2,537 2,194 2,763 2,881 3,087 3,781 4,371 6,002 23,386 10

11 Total: 53,891 50,652 62,759 69,654 66,289 65,838 68,418 70,797 69,692 76,299 90,717 Over the past few years, especially since 2006, there has been a development trend of hostels which are growing at an average annual rate of 48.61% according to the number of arrivals, that is, 25.45% per year according to the number of overnight stays. The results of strong growth were especially evident in 2014, when accommodation in hostels achieved a record 23,386 arrivals and 36,502 overnight stays. As observed over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the total number of arrivals and overnight stays of domestic and foreign tourists in all categories of accommodation except the camp. Table 8. The structure of total arrivals by type of accommodation in the period 2004 to 2014 Accomm odation Hotel 76,920 77,127 83,852 98,824 89,356 88,877 88,310 94,168 90,842 88,468 92,666 Camp 18,037 14,561 14,498 10,291 10,198 9,918 9,903 18,435 12,089 20,387 11,193 Private Accomm odation 10,839 7,528 8,155 11,817 7,650 14,932 17,923 9,851 15,344 24,011 33,188 Hostels ,321 8,698 10,073 10,300 11,207 13,326 17,305 13,311 36,502 Total: 105,796 99, , , , , , , , , ,549 The development of tourism in the city of Rijeka leads to significant changes in the structure of accommodation facilities, reducing the overall share of hotels in the number of arrivals (from 87.03% to 57.27%) and overnight stays (from 72.71% to 53.39%). The larger capacity of private accommodation achieved an increase in the market share to 11.47% of the number of arrivals and 19.12% of the total overnight stays in Relatively smaller investments over the years related to the camp compared to other types of accommodation resulted in a decrease in the share of the number of arrivals (from 10.54% to 5.48%) and overnight stays (from 17.05% to 6.45%) compared to the base year 2004 as shown in Table 9. By opening new hostels the offer of facilities in the city of Rijeka was further diversified and in 2014 they occupied a total of 25.78% market share in the number of arrivals and 21.03% market share in overnight stays. Table 9. Percentage share by type of accommodation in total arrivals and overnight stays Category Overnight Overnight Arrivals Arrivals stays stays Hotel 87.03% 72.70% 57.27% 53.39% Camp 10.54% 17.05% 5.48% 6.45% Private Accommodation 2.43% 10.25% 11.47% 19.13% Hostels 0.00% 0.00% 25.78% 21.03% 11

12 Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 2.6. Age Group Share in Total Arrivals and Overnight Stays The age structure of tourists who visit the city of Rijeka is quite diverse. There are long-time visitors of the older generation who visit Croatia with their families, and also an increasing number of young people who travel through Rijeka. Overall, there is a long-term trend of rejuvenation of the structure of tourists, which can clearly be demonstrated by comparing 2014 to the base year Table 10. Comparison of absolute and percentage share of the tourist age structure (2004/2014) Index 2004 Index 2014 Age Group Overnight Overnight Overnight Overnight Arrivals Arrivals Arrivals Arrivals stays stays stays stays 0 to 12 years of age 1,232 3,311 2,773 5, % 2.28% 3.06% 3.32% 13 to 18 years of age 1,406 6,080 3,732 9, % 4.19% 4.11% 5.26% 19 to 30 years of age 11,153 38,447 21,350 41, % 26.49% 23.54% 23.85% 31 to 40 years of age 9,196 27,980 17,779 35, % 19.28% 19.60% 20.42% 41 to 50 years of age 9,515 31,098 15,840 30, % 21.43% 17.46% 17.33% 51 to 60 years of age 9,075 23,281 14,978 26, % 16.04% 16.51% 15.54% over 60 years of age 7,937 14,928 14,265 24, % 10.29% 15.72% 14.28% TOTAL 49, ,125 90, , % 100% 100% 100% For example, during the studied years there has been a significant increase in the share of visitors from the 0-12 years age group from 2.49% to 3.06% in arrivals and 2.28% to 3.32% in overnight stays; the age group of years has increased from 2.84% to 4.11% in arrivals and from 4.19% to 5.26% in overnight stays; the age group of years has increased in arrivals from 22.52% to 23.53% and decreased in overnight stays from 26.49% to 23.85%; the age group of years has increased in arrivals from 18.57% to 19.60% and increased in overnight stays from 19.28% to 20.42%. At the same time, the share of tourists aged years has been declining (from 18.33% to 16.51% in the number of arrivals, from 16.04% to 15.54% in the 12

13 number of overnight stays) as well as of tourists older than 60 years of age (from 16.03% to 15.72% in the number of arrivals, with a growth in overnight stays from 10.29% to 14.28%). Tourists in the age group years saw the largest drop in arrivals (from 19.22% to 17.46%) and overnight stays (from 21.43% to 17.32%) Average Tourist Stay One of the categories that represents tourist behaviour in a specific destination is the average stay. Its ratio represents the ratio of total overnight stays and arrivals, and is an important indicator of the offer of the tourist destination. The City of Rijeka is by its geographical location a transit centre of Kvarner Bay, which is statistically confirmed through stable average stays of tourists lasting approximately two days. Graph 3. Trends in the total average stay in the period 2004 to ,00 1,95 1,90 1,85 1,80 1,75 1,70 1, Ukupno Total average prosječni stay boravak For example, in 2014 it is evident that different accommodation categories have different average lengths of stay. Over the years, the results of the trends of the average stay per type are relatively stable, with significant deviations in the years when there was a significant change in tourist facilities in the city of Rijeka (e.g., opening of more hostels or closing of part of accommodation for renovation). Domestic and foreign visitors stay the longest in private accommodation, on average more than three days. Camp is the second category by the average length of stay of nearly two and a half days. Visitors stay the shortest in hostels (1.56 days) and hotels (1.78 days) as shown in the table below. 13

14 Table 11. Average length of stay by type of accommodation for 2014 Category 2014 Overnight Arrivals stays Average Stay Hotel 51,958 92, Camp 4,968 11, Private Accommodation 10,405 33, Hostel 23,386 36, Total: 90, , Financial Indicators on an Annual Level 3.1. Total Tourism Revenue The financial tourism results in the city of Rijeka can be viewed through aggregated and individual results of three major tourist sectors - accommodation, preparation and service of food and drinks, as well as travel agencies. Seen through a ten-year period, it is obvious that tourism suffered the consequences of the crisis in the form of stagnation in revenues from 2007 to But it should be pointed out that in the last three years a new upward trend has been created with results to be complete when the data for 2014 are recorded in the database of the Financial Agency (FINA). 14

15 Graph 4. Total revenue (HRK) for all tourism sectors in the period 2004 to Ukupni Total revenue prihodi in (Kn) HRK Compared to the base year 2004 progress is significant - the total annual revenue from tourism increased from 231,918, (2004) to 535,339, (2013) HRK. By sectors, the most significant change was in the preparation and service of food and drink, where in 2004 the revenue was 105,357, HRK, compared to the revenue of HRK 292,558, in Travel agencies have also increased their revenue from 76,218, (2004) to 188,549, (2013) HRK. In the accommodation sector there was also an increase from 50,342, HRK (2004) to 54,232, HRK in A comparison of revenue by sector and perennial positive trends is shown in Graph 5 below. 15

16 Prihodi u kunama Graph 5. Comparison of annual revenue of business entities by tourist sectors Preparation and service of food and Accommodation Smještaj (55) Priprema drink (56) i usluga hrana i piće (56) Putničke Travel agencies agencije (79) (79) (55) 3.2. Number of Businesses by Tourism Sectors In Rijeka there is a long-term growth trend in the number of businesses in tourism sectors. The total number of businesses that were present in the market in 2013 compared to 2003 grew by respectable %. In accordance with the share in total revenue for 2013, tourism in Rijeka is led by the following business activities: preparation and service of food and drink (54.65%), travel agencies (35.22%) and accommodation (10.13%). Compared to 2003 there has been a significant increase in the number of businesses in the accommodation sector (258.33%), which follows the growth of preparation and service of food and drink (140.22%) and travel agencies (62.96%). Table 12. Number of businesses in the tourist sectors in the period from 2003 to 2013 Year Accommodation Preparation and service of food and drink 16 Travel agencies

17 Total Number of Employees in Tourist Sectors In the studied period, the largest annual increase was recorded in the preparation and service of food and drink, while travel agencies had a stable employment growth. The total number of employees in tourism increased from 892 (2004) to 1452 employees (2013), which is an increase of 62.78%. The share of employment in tourism in 2013 represents 4.65% of the total number of employees in the city of Rijeka (31,207). The development of sectors creates new jobs, which is especially noticeable in the sector of preparation and service of food and drink which with 892 employees (2004) rose to 1,107 employees in In the travel agency sector there is also an increase in the number of employees from 110 to 144 or 30.91% in the studied period. Only the accommodation sector shows a negative trend in employment by reducing the number of employees from 216 to 201. Graph 6. Comparison of the number of employees of business entities by tourist sector Smještaj Accommodation (55) Priprema Preparation i usluga and service hrana of food i piće and (56) drink Putničke Travel agencies agencije (79) (79) (55) (56) 4. Analysis of the Development of Multi-Year Trends Given the available databases there are two significant links between physical and financial indicators of results in tourist sectors. The comparison of total revenue in tourism to the total 17

18 number of overnight stays imposes a clear link between a stable growth in the number of visitors which generate increasing revenue from year to year. The correlation between these indicators remains strong in terms of stagnation during the strongest impact of the economic crisis, which shows tourism is an industry branch resistant to economic shocks. A positive jump in total revenue made in 2013 is a result of, among other things, increased quality of the tourist offer in the city of Rijeka in all segments. By providing additional facilities and activities, increasing the tourist capacity leads to the creation of added value, which ultimately results in the inclusion of a larger number of businesses in tourism and hiring of a larger number of employees in the various branches of tourism sectors. Graph 7. Comparison of total tourism revenue in the total number of overnight stays in the city of Rijeka Noćenja Total number of Ukupna noćenja Ukupni Total revenue prihodi (HRK) (Kn) overnight stays Prihod (kn) 18

19 Planning further strategic development of tourism in Rijeka has a strong foundation in the existing trends that are expected to continue and strengthen in the coming years parallel to full economic recovery and an increase in consumer purchasing power. Below is a comparison of total revenue by the total number of employees, which clearly shows the existence of the aforementioned correlation. Graph 8. Comparison of total revenue by the total number of employees in the tourism industry in Rijeka Revenue (HRK) Total revenue (HRK) Number of employees Prihodi (kn) Ukupni prihodi (Kn) Broj zaposlenih Zaposleni Employees 19

20 5. Conclusion In the period of ten years, the development of tourism in Rijeka took place in a distinctly industrial environment which gradually stagnated in the newly created market framework. The said environment has created a situation in which most of the unused space could have been converted into tourist facilities, creating room for improvement in the future. With continuous high-quality work, tourism workers have laid the groundwork for positive longterm trends that Rijeka tourism shows despite the crisis. Investments in accommodation facilities and urban amenities have changed the age structure, in which an ever-increasing proportion of young people up to 30 years of age are taking part while at the same time keeping the traditional visitors of the older generation. Tourism has emerged as one of the models of city development in parallel with the development of the port and other forms of economic activity. Ten years ago mainly transit visitors were passing through Rijeka without longer stays in the city. Today tourist groups that visit Rijeka and city sights are common, and so are packed promenades during the day and packed city centre with young people over the weekends. Joint business activity of all tourist sectors in partnership with the Tourist Board of Rijeka through numerous projects results in the fact that tourism is becoming an increasingly important branch of Rijeka's economy and an important source of revenue for a growing number of citizens. Strengthening the city of Rijeka as a tourist destination today is a solid basis for further development of local tourism. A record 2014 is a result of joint activities of all entities which are implemented with the aim of improving the overall tourist offer in the city of Rijeka available to all visitors staying in the accommodation facilities and to those who are taking numerous day trips. Such a form of high quality tourist offer represents a sustainable development model of urban tourism, the one that is already in place in many European cities. 20