A recent conference in Kyiv on the Ukrainian and Belarus tourism industries concluded that things are so bad for Ukraine’s market that the only direction is up.
But at least the situation provides strong investment opportunities.
The seventh annual HTL roundtable Ukraine+ was held in Kyiv on May 21 and offered more than 30 industry experts the opportunity to assess current market conditions for the hotel, tourism and leisure industries in Ukraine and Belarus. Participants included real estate experts, hotel developers, and representatives from financial institutions and investment companies.
A survey presented by PKF hotelexperts indicated that the percentage ratio of branded to unbranded hotels in Ukraine is 26 percent to 74 percent, leaving for room for huge development potential.
But there was no running away from the fact that most hotels in Ukraine are empty, and the low rates they are being forced to charge are making operations increasingly difficult.
Experts say that comparable European cities run at above 70 percent occupancy rates, while Kyiv is now at around 30 percent. However things are looking a little better in the western part of the country, particularly in Lviv, farthest away from the fighting in the east.
Michael Widmann, managing partner of PKF hotelexperts Vienna, closed the conference by grimly commenting on the Ukrainian market: “With revpar (revenue per available room) levels down below € 30 in Ukraine and slightly above €30 in Kyiv according to recently published STR Global data for 2014, hotel operation cannot really get worse.”
