Are hotels pricing visitors out of Welsh capital?

Mar 12 2008 by Tim Lewis, Western Mail

HOTELS in the capital of Wales are more expensive than in top global destinations like Sydney, Madrid and Los Angeles, it has been revealed.

According to the annual hotel price index compiled by leading accommodation provider www.hotels.com – which claims to be the world’s most visited online hotels website – the average price for a night’s stay at a hotel in Cardiff in 2007 was £94.

This compares to other popular cities around the world like Vienna £89, Miami £84, Madrid and Sydney £82 and Brussels £78.

Overall, the UK was found to be the most expensive place to stay of any major European country last year, with an average hotel per room per night cost of £106.

Bath and London were the most expensive places to stay, with average prices there at £117 and £115. Cardiff is 10th in a list of the most expensive places in the UK, ranking below Oxford, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Brighton, Belfast, Inverness and Liverpool.

John Wake, a tourism expert who has championed Wales at events throughout the world, said, “Things are going very well for Wales, but we need to be a bit canny.

“Two or three years ago I suggested that Wales is getting out of control with its hotel prices, because before long it will have a negative effect on tourism here.

“When we had sporting events like the FA Cup at the Millennium Stadium prices were raised extremely high, almost three times higher than before, and kept that way. But now we are competing with low-cost air travel to European cities we have to re-evaluate our prices.”

Mr Wake highlighted the high cost for a family from other parts of Wales or the UK to stay in Cardiff and said raised prices are now spreading out to other tourism hot-spots.

He added, “I understand prices will be raised for big events, like the Ryder Cup coming in 2010, but you have to be able to attract tourists to Wales all-year round. We are not a country with a long history of tourism and when you cannot guarantee good weather, like in many other parts of Europe, you have to make the prices a bit more attractive.”

A spokesman for Visit Wales, the tourism arm of the Welsh Assembly Government, said, “In the keenly competitive market of global tourism, we see quality and value for money as the touchstones to survival and success and advise Welsh tourism businesses to invest in quality and to offer a commensurate level of service.

“In this way we believe that the Welsh tourism industry can make Wales an attractive destination, build up a loyal client base and get visitors to return.

“However, Visit Wales has no direct control or influence on hotel prices.”

Latest figures show the Welsh capital has once again made it into the top 20 most booked cities in the UK, ranking 14th just behind cities like Newcastle and Belfast.

Prices in Cardiff are down 1% from the year before and this bucks a UK-wide trend, where the average cost of a hotel room for the night has increased 12% from 2006 to 2007.

Prices around the world varied dramatically, Moscow ranking as the most expensive city, with hotel prices rising 25% from the previous year up to £194 per night. New York (£143), Dubai (£125) and Venice (£125) follow.