Jurys Inn reports a 10% increase in inbound guests as it welcomed a record five million visitors to its hotels in 2016, according to new data from the Group.
With over 7,300 rooms across 36 hotels Amaris Hospitality, the hotel group that owns and manages Jurys Inn, has spent €50 million over the last 24 months rebranding, renovating and extending the Jurys Inn portfolio.
According to the Group, Jurys Inn experienced a substantial rise in international tourism throughout the year, having seen a 10% like for like increase in international visitors on the previous year, outperforming the UK average (+3%) .
Domestic tourism remained particularly strong for the group across 2016 as the ‘staycation’ trend seemed to be in full effect, with over half a million Brits choosing to stay at a Jurys Inn hotel between April and May 2016 – up 6% year-on-year.
Analysis of the ONS data by Jurys Inn showed that this impressive rise in UK inbound tourism was at its highest following the Brexit vote, which saw a 43% spike in growth in July. This increase was mirrored by Jurys Inn, which had a 17% jump in international visitors across July, driven primarily by a sharp rise in American guests in the three months following the vote.
In fact November, which is typically a low month for inbound travel to the UK, saw Jurys Inn witness a 19% rise in international bookings. This growth marginally outperformed that of the UK, which is estimated to have had a record number of visitors that month (up 16% year-on-year1).
The Group found this rise in international visitors was in part driven by a number of established tourism markets, like the United States, Spain and Australia, as well as a number of smaller high growth markets including Poland, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Hong Kong and Israel.
Jason Carruthers, Managing Director of Jurys Inn, said: “Overall 2016 was a very good year for UK tourism and we were delighted to have welcomed over 5 million guests to a Jurys Inn hotel, following our rebranding, renovating and extension programme. It was encouraging to see high levels of growth in both domestic and international visitors throughout the whole year, not just the post-Brexit era, and further sign of the increasing strength of the Jurys Inn brand.
“Overall the UK hospitality and tourism sector has strong fundamentals, is experiencing growth and well positioned to generate further growth in the coming years. A lot of this activity is being driven by increasing disposable incomes around the world, as well as affordable air travel, and for the UK, the US is a particular growth market.
“We’re already seeing encouraging numbers for 2017 and will continue to drive growth across the group by offering an exceptional experience, in fantastic city centre locations across the UK.”