Tourism in Principality continues to win back markets

The Director of the Tourist and Convention Authority, Guy Antognelli, gave an update on tourism activity over the previous year to an audience of industry professionals and partners at the Fairmont Hotel on Tuesday 21 March. H.E. the Minister of State was also in attendance. Surrounded by his entire team, Mr Guy Antognelli announced that the key outcomes for 2022 included a hotel occupancy rate that had increased since 2021, although it was still lower than in 2019, the pre-COVID benchmark year. “This positive assessment offers optimism for the months ahead, particularly as there has been a substantial rise in the revenue per room”, he said.

In his presentation, the Director of the Tourist and Convention Authority also noted that visitor numbers from some countries, including France, Israel, Mexico, Qatar and Kuwait had actually increased compared with 2019. On the other hand, there had been a sharp decline in those coming from Russia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, China, Japan and Italy, due to the international situation or to domestic political instability.

In an extremely competitive environment for tourism, the Monaco Tourist Authority intends to consolidate its preferred markets by stepping up its promotional activities.

With regard to business tourism in the Principality, Guy Antognelli would like Monaco to take full advantage of the trend among event organisers, who are overwhelmingly in favour of a return to in-person business meetings and conventions. This should benefit the Grimaldi Forum and hotels in the Principality.

Finally, Destination Monaco will take an increasing interest in new generations of clients and how to respond to their expectations and new approaches to communication and tourism consumption: Instagrammability, digital nomadism and sustainability. “In all of these areas, Monaco has significant advantages when it comes to welcoming clients and winning their loyalty,” said Sandrine Camia, Deputy Director of the Tourist Authority, in her marketing analysis presentation.

Based on these principles of excellence, the Tourist and Convention Authority’s new communications campaign was then unveiled. The campaign will be rolled out internationally, with a priority focus on the United States. The slogan – “Like Nowhere Else” – reflects more than a promise, it confirms that Destination Monaco is, in a word, unique!