Tourism Business Index: improving sentiment, but the sector remains in the red

Within the sector, the sub-sectors separated spectacularly: the hospitality index improved by 14 points to -2 points, accommodation services strengthened by 8 points to -7 points, while other tourism sub-sectors (e.g. travel and event management, well-being services) slipped to -10 points. Overall, the TKI was better in February than several major national economic indicators (the GKI business confidence index and industry–construction–trade), which indicates that tourism can be relatively more resilient even in a weaker macro environment.

Labor: slight expansion intention, but the market is still cautious

The assessment of the employment situation in the past three months indicated practically stagnation (1 point). The expectation for the next three months is +2 points, meaning that companies are expecting a slight increase in staff overall, and this is an improvement compared to the January measurement.

Performance: improving short term, weaker base

The performance expectations index increased by 7 points in February to +5 points, but is still much lower than in February 2025 (+24 points). For the coming months, 44% of accommodation providers expect an increase in guest nights, 30% of those in the hospitality sector expect an increase in turnover, while 37% in the “other” subsector expect an increase in customer turnover.

Cost-price gap: still a tense topic

70% of businesses reported an increase in operating costs in the past three months, with an average increase of about 9% for the sector. In contrast, price increases were much more subdued: 38% of companies increased prices, by an average of about 2%, and 33% plan further price increases in the next three months. According to the report, the gap between cost and price changes widened in February.

Development appetite: spectacular jump year-on-year

45% of tourism companies are considering development in the next 12 months (the 3-month moving average is 44%), which is much higher than a year earlier (27%). According to the sub-selectors, development activity is particularly strong in accommodation (69%), while in hospitality it is 34%.