The annual index, published by commercial real estate firm Colliers, assessed 38 UK cities against ten performance measures, including room occupancy rates, daily room costs, revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth, development expenses, land values and market demand.

The latest edition, which compared 2022 data with that of 2019, included Inverness for the first time. Inverness debuted impressively at number six, while Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, ascended ten places to the eighth spot.

Marc Finney, head of Colliers Hotels & Resorts Consulting, attributes Scotland’s continued popularity to its abundant scenery, tranquillity, rich heritage and history. Edinburgh’s top position is maintained thanks to its attractiveness as a leisure destination and its solid underlying market fundamentals for investors.

Mr Finney also identified Inverness as a location with significant development potential due to its robust RevPAR performance and relatively affordable land prices. Glasgow, which hosted the COP26 conference in 2021 and houses offices for several major corporations, was another standout performer.

City centre locations, particularly in Scotland, are also witnessing a robust recovery, driven by a resurgence in business travel in 2022 and extending into the first quarter of 2023.

Siddhika Shah, an associate director at Colliers Hotels & Resorts Consulting, underlined Glasgow’s potential, noting a strong pipeline for hotel development in the city. She also highlighted Inverness as an attractive investment opportunity, thanks to its strong performance metrics, affordable land values and limited active pipeline.

The top ten markets in the 2023 Colliers’ UK Hotel Market Index are:

• Edinburgh
• Belfast
• Bath
• York
• London
• Inverness
• Oxford
• Glasgow
• Cardiff
• Swansea