Average UK hotel prices fell by 4% last year to an average of £100 a night despite fears that the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and London Olympic Games would lead to soaring accommodation costs.
Visitors from China spent 18% less in 2012 – the year’s biggest faller – as complex visa restrictions threaten to put off potential high spenders from visiting the UK.
Yet with an average spend of £121 per night, the Chinese were the ninth highest spending visitors from overseas behind those from the Middle East, Brazil, Japan, the US, Mexico, Argentina and Russia.
The figures come from the latest Hotels.com Hotel Price Index which compares prices paid for hotel rooms globally in 2012 and 2011.
Travellers from 34 of the 39 countries included in the report paid less for their hotel rooms last year than the previous 12 months.
The average paid by visitors from Brazil, Argentina, Hong Kong and Austria remained unchanged, while the Japanese were the only travellers to spend more in 2012, albeit by just 1%.
A Hotels.com spokeswoman said: “From the opening of the Titanic museum in Belfast to the Diamond Jubilee and summer of sport, the UK once again proved itself a world class destination.
“However, with some visitors – the Chinese in particular – finding it difficult to apply for a visa, the UK risks deterring some of the biggest spenders if changes are not made to make it easier to enter the country.”
London retained its position as the country’s most popular tourist destination with international visitors finding that hotels in the city cost 3% less than in 2011 at £126 per night.
Edinburgh and Manchester ranked at No 2 and 3, with hotel rooms costing £101 and £79 respectively. Offering great value at just £78 a night,
Liverpool came next at £78 a night, while Glasgow completed the top five, with average hotel prices falling by 2% to £71.
Aberdeen saw rise by 9% to £93 driven by demand from the buoyant energy sector while Belfast hotel rates were up by 10% to £72 as the city benefited from global interest in the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic’s maiden voyage and the opening of the Belfast Titanic museum on the slipways where the ship was built.