The Monegasque economy in 2022: 8 key figures
© Philippe Fitte
Overall, it’s good news.
IMSEE Director Alexandre Bubbio (left) and Minister of Economy and Finance Jean Castellini (right)
Advertising
The Economy and Finance Minister, Jean Castellini, and the Director of IMSEE (Monaco Statistics), Alexandre Bubbio, presented the economic report for last year with a certain degree of enthusiasm on Wednesday 15 March.
The Monegasque economy is in good health, and the recovery that began in 2021 is continuing despite the war in Ukraine and market turbulence. Most indicators have even exceeded pre-COVID levels.
€32 million budget surplus
The first striking figure is the budget surplus of €32 million that the Monegasque economy registered at the end of 2022. “This brings us back up to levels that we have not seen since 2018,” the Minister remarked, pointing out that the impact of the Covid-19 crisis has been greatly mitigated in the Principality, thanks in particular to the different grants and subsidies from the Prince’s Government. After a spell in the red with the State budget in deficit during the crisis, Jean Castellini was delighted to state that Monaco “has weathered the storm.”
A hotel occupancy rate of almost 60%
On the tourism side, hotel occupancy in 2022 is still slightly lower than pre-pandemic in 2019, but still close to 60%. On the other hand, the average revenue per available room (RevPar, which means the profitability of each occupied room) shows a significant increase, +16% compared to 2019. These healthy figures are due in particular to the return of the international clientele and in particular Americans who seem to have “taken advantage of the dollar’s recovery,” according to the Minister, who is already counting on a great season in 2023.
“In March, the occupancy rate and RevPar forecasts indicate improved sales performance compared to 2022,” in particular thanks to ‘corporate’ events such as One to One Monaco, which takes place between 14 and 16 March, and the Aesthetic & Anti-Aging Medicine World Congress (AMWC), which will take place from 30 March to 1 April.
Heliport: 42,000 passengers
One sector that is “nowhere near its pre-crisis level” is the Monaco heliport. While in 2018, 80,000 passengers were registered, it now caters for around half that number, 42,000. The IMSEE Director did mention however, that there was a slight improvement in 2022 compared to 2021. The Minister feels there is a need to “green” this type of air transport in the coming years to adapt to changing behaviours.
Good news, however, from Nice airport, which recently announced new destinations in Europe and Saudi Arabia. The Minister reminded those present that a route to Riyadh will be opening from summer 2023 and that Bari and Birmingham will also be served. “Strengthening connections can only contribute to even greater business and tourist activity,” hopes Jean Castellini.
A word on cruises: with 109 days of calls and 54,522 cruise passenger days, the 2022 levels are below those recorded before the crisis (173 and 190,707 respectively in 2019), but a significant increase can be seen. “More than 2/3 of the cruise passengers are Americans and Canadians,” says Alexandre Bubbio.
Over 3,000 jobs created
3,083 jobs were created in 2022, giving a total of 60,000 jobs in the private sector. This is an increase of 5.4% over the previous year. Almost all sectors have grown, although not all of them have got back to their pre-crisis levels, particularly the accommodation/restaurant sector. Approximately 8,000 people are employed in this sector, whereas in 2019 the figure was more like 8,400.
The 60,000 jobs represent more than 97 million working hours in Monaco over the year 2022. “This is an unprecedented level, almost 8 million more than in 2021,” remarked Alexandre Bubbio, who, by means of a comparison, stated that this is equivalent to a thirteenth month.
1 company created every day
It is fair to say that companies are popping up like mushrooms in the Principality, whether they are created by Monegasques, notably with the support of the MonacoTech start-up incubator and the MonacoBoost business incubator, or by foreigners. Monegasques, British, French, German and Italian entrepreneurs represent more than 75% of the demand for new companies.
Specifically, the IMSEE registers 408 net creations over the year, which means that “every day, more than one company is created in the Principality, if we subtract those that have ceased trading.”
18% more trade with the outside world
In 2022, the Principality’s overall trade volume increased by 18% compared to 2021. “At 3.5 billion, we are still slightly below 2019 levels (3.7 billion),” says Alexandre Bubbio.
The Director of the Monegasque Institute of Statistics notes at the same time that, not counting France, Italy is still the Principality’s leading trading partner with over 22% of trade. This is followed by Germany with around 12% of trade and the UK with 10%.
3.4 billion euros of real estate transactions
After a two-year slump caused by the health crisis, real estate is picking up again in the Principality. With 520 transactions carried out, “we are, in volume terms, slightly under the 2014 – 2016 results, when we had around 560,” comments Alexandre Bubbio.
But in value terms, we are way ahead! Real estate reached an unprecedented figure of 3.54 billion euros. This increase of 51.8% is mainly down to the new building market and the appearance of new construction sites such as extension out to sea. “Many of the sales were made off-plan,”says the IMSEE Director.
19 billion euros in turnover
Close to 19 billion euros at the end of 2022, the Principality’s turnover has increased by 2.5 billion compared to 2021. “This is an unprecedented level,” enthused the Director of IMSEE, but tempered this by mentioning the undeniable impact on prices of the current period of inflation. The biggest contributors to the growth of Monegasque turnover are: wholesale trade, scientific and technical activities and construction.
“The Monegasque economy is very resilient, it has shown its robustness in the face of crises and turbulence,” concluded the Minister for the Economy and Finance, Jean Castellini.
The full bulletin is available on the IMSEE website.