Hotel occupancy rates in Istanbul soared in May, but the city’s hotels remained to be the cheapest across Europe, according to a leading tourism association.

The Hotels Association of Turkey (TÜROB) also noted that hotel occupancy rates in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya continued to decline, despite the recent flock of Russian tourists into the province.

Hotel occupancy rates across Turkey surged to 61.5 percent in May with an 8.3 percent year-on-year increase, according to STR Global data released by TÜROB on June 24.

The rates soared to 55.4 percent in the first five months of the year, with a 6.3 percent year-on-year increase, but Turkey witnessed a steep decline in hotel revenues in the same period, as average hotel room prices plummeted by 23 percent to 60.1 euros.

In May, hotel occupancy rates in Istanbul rose by 15.7 percent to 64.4 percent. The Average Daily Rates (ADR) of the city, however, declined 25.3 percent to 76.8 euros in May, STR Global data showed. The city’s revenue per available room (RevPAR) also regressed to 49.4 euros with a 13.5 percent year-on-year decrease. Istanbul therefore experienced the sharpest decline in hotel revenue among all European destinations.

While hotel occupancy rates in the city rose to 55.7 percent in the first five months of the year compared to 51.1 percent in the same period of 2016, its ADR declined to 72.8 euros from 97.8 euros. Its RevPAR also dropped to 40.5 euros in the January-May period compared to 49.9 euros in the same period of 2016.

Hotel occupancy rates in Antalya declined 1.5 percent to 55.8 percent in May compared to the same period of 2016. Hotel revenues also declined in May, with Antalya’s ADR decreasing to 61.1 euros with a 9.7 percent year-on-year decline. Its RevPAR also declined to 34.1 euros in May with an 11.1 percent year-on-year decrease.

Almost all other European destinations saw an increase in hotel occupancy rates and hotel revenues in May, with Edinburgh experiencing the highest hotel occupancy rate at 89.4 percent, according to STR Global data.

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