There were almost as many short-term accommodation reservations via online platforms last year as before the covid-19 epidemic

The collaborative economy in tourism is gaining strength again after the covid-19 epidemic

Although the covid-19 epidemic greatly affected the entire tourist activity and thus also the field of cooperative economy in tourism, the year 2022 was marked by the return of foreign tourists to Slovenia, which strengthened the cooperative economy again.

Accommodation establishments for short-term stays in Slovenia, according to SKD 2008 classified in group 55.2, i.e. the activity of holiday homes and similar accommodation establishments for short-term stays, received almost 273,000 reservations last year through the four largest international online booking platforms (Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group and Tripadvisor). This was almost one time more than in 2021 or 11 % less than in 2019.

Based on these reservations, a little less than 2.5 million tourist overnight stays were created in total. This was one more than in 2021 and 5 % less than in 2019.

9 out of 10 reservations made via online platforms by foreign tourists

Last year, foreign tourists made 246,000 reservations in short-term accommodation establishments in this way, which is 90% of all reservations made, and almost 2.3 million overnight stays, i.e. 92 % of all overnight stays arranged in this way.

Tourists' overnight stays in short-term accommodation facilities booked through online platforms

These establishments received an average of 747 reservations per day, on the basis of which 6,700 overnight stays were created per day, with an average of 9 per reservation (8.4 in 2019).

According to officially published data on accommodation statistics, which already take into account data on overnight stays created on the basis of the mentioned reservations, last year tourists created 5.7 million overnight stays in holiday homes and similar accommodation facilities for short-term stays. 43 % were therefore arranged with reservations via the aforementioned four platforms.

Distinctive season in summer

Just like before and during the covid-19 epidemic, in 2022 the largest number of accommodation establishments for short-term stays via online platforms were made in July and August. These are also considered to be the months with the most tourist overnight stays in Slovenia.

During this period, a total of 113,000 reservations were made in this way last year, on the basis of which a little less than 1.2 million overnight stays were created. This was almost half of all such overnight stays in 2022. In July last year, compared to the same month in 2019, 4 % more such overnight stays were created.

A fifth of the overnight stays arranged through reservations via online platforms were created by tourists from Germany

In 2022, based on reservations via online platforms, tourists from Germany created almost 446,000 overnight stays in the accommodation establishments in question, or a fifth of all overnight stays by foreign tourists in these establishments. They were followed by tourists from the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Among tourists from countries with more than 100,000 overnight stays of this type, compared to 2019, the shares of overnight stays increased for almost all of them, the most for tourists from Germany (34 % more overnight stays), Poland (26 %) and the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria (after 21 % each). The exceptions were tourists from the United Kingdom - they created 36 % fewer overnight stays of this type than in 2019 -, Italy (24 % less) and France (2 % less).

Last year, domestic tourists made approximately the same number of such reservations and 3 % more overnight stays than in 2019.

A third of these overnight stays are in the Gorenje statistical region

Last year, tourists generated the largest share of such overnight stays in the Gorenje statistical region (808,000 or 33 %). This was slightly more than in 2019 (1 % more). According to the share of overnight stays, it was followed by the Osrednjeslovenska and the Coastal Karst statistical regions (22 % in each). Compared to 2019, the number of such overnight stays in 2022 was one third less in the first, and 18 % more in the second.

In the capital, the number of overnight stays dropped by a third

Last year in Ljubljana, 484,000 overnight stays were created in accommodation facilities for short-term stays based on reservations via online platforms, or 35 % less than in 2019. This, similar to 2019, represented 90 % of such overnight stays in the Central Slovenia statistical region.