Global political and economic turmoil has meant a gloomy year for hotels in Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and Africa, according to PKF's Country Trends 2002 survey.

The survey of more than 1,200 hotels in 59 countries found that Europe fared better than the rest of the Continent in the financial year to 31 March 2002, recording the only regional rise in average room rate, up 2.2 percent to EUR 117.04. Only seven countries achieved more than 70 per cent room occupancy. Russia put in the best performance with revenue per available (RevPar) room up 27.6 per cent to EUR 73.65. Sweden had the largest fall in RevPar, down 9.8 per cent to EUR 92.87.

The other regions suffered most with occupancy down 7.9 per cent to 54.9 per cent in the Middle East. Kuwait was still at the bottom of the occupancy rankings, while occupancy dropped by almost a quarter in Israel.

The situation was equally bad in South Asia with a 5.8 per cent decline in occupancy to 56 per cent and a drop in average room rate to US$58.10. Africa was also hit hard with occupancy down to 59.2 per cent. Details: +44 (0)20 7782 9335