Over 2,000 new hotels in one year – explosive brand expansion in the global hotel market

Globally, international tourist arrivals increased by 5% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, and are already 4% higher than the pre-pandemic level in terms of passenger numbers. Europe remains the world’s most visited continent, with 747 million international tourists arriving in 2024, while nearly 340 million tourist arrivals were registered in the first half of 2025, which is already +7% growth on top of the full recovery compared to the pre-Covid period. Passenger traffic at European airports increased by 4.5%, further strengthening the continent’s tourism role.

According to Moore Hotels Quarterly, the operating performance of hotel properties has stabilized after an exceptionally high base. The net average price increased by 0.7%, reaching 165 US dollars (55 thousand forints net), while room occupancy decreased by 0.3 percentage points. Room revenue per available unit, excluding other revenues such as hospitality or wellness services, increased by 0.1 percent in the first half of 2025. However, this stabilized performance does not reflect a decrease or lack of guest numbers, but rather the result of an unprecedented increase in supply, as the volume of international tourist arrivals increased by 5% in the meantime.

The average daily price of the luxury segment stabilized at 303 US dollars net in the first half of this year, which means 101 thousand forints net per night, excluding taxes and breakfast. The pricing of the premium segment below the luxury category remained stable, thus strengthening their market position. The upper midscale segment, which has the most units, increased to $125 net, while the midscale segment, which showed the highest relative growth, increased to $114. It can therefore be observed that the proportion of guests who primarily preferred lower prices and good value for money increased.

“Global growth is being slowed down primarily by China, which has not yet been able to recover since the pandemic, and the United States, which is causing slight confusion with travel news, while the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region is clearly pulling the average up.”

– said Márton Takács, Moore Hungary’s hotel and tourism business partner and international sector manager.