Stats: Number of Tourists Increased Y-o-y in August by 9%, to All-time Record

Bratislava, 13 October (TASR) – Accommodation facilities in Slovakia welcomed 808,000 guests for overnight stays in August this year, marking a year-on-year increase of nearly 9 percent and setting an all-time monthly record for tourism, the Statistics Office reported on Monday. August has traditionally been the peak of the tourism season, but this was the first time that hotels, guesthouses, and campsites jointly exceeded 800,000 guests in a single month. According to the Statistics Office, current figures surpassed the pre-pandemic summer levels by around 16,000 guests. Visitors spent over 2.2 million nights in hotels, guesthouses, and other accommodation facilities, representing a 6.6 percent increase compared to last year. The average length of stay in August was 2.8 nights. Domestic tourists continued to dominate the guest structure, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total, with 484,000 Slovak residents staying in accommodation facilities. Their number rose by just under 4 percent year-on-year, making it the third-highest figure in historical terms. The peak in domestic tourism was recorded in 2020 and 2021, when pandemic-related travel restrictions encouraged Slovaks to holiday at home. The number of foreign visitors to Slovakia rose at an above-average pace of 17 percent, reaching nearly 324,000. This figure was only slightly below the all-time high set in 2019, falling short by just 1,700 visitors, or 0.5 percent. mf