Page 44 - economic report 2021

Table 5.3
BUSINESSES’ OPINIONS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS IN 2021

Results of the situation survey in retail commerce
Large
2021 COMPARED WITH 2020 Total retail Clothing & Household Health & IT & Vehicles & Other commercial
(as % of businesses) commerce Food footwear equipment hygiene electronics accessories commerce establishments
Sales figures Higher 46 33 54 41 50 50 50 42 100
Same 33 26 25 44 36 36 37 32 0
Lower 21 42 21 15 14 14 13 26 0
Average variat on (%) 10.0 -1.2 8.1 5.9 17.3 19.3 16.1 8.6 13.6

Volume of Higher 27 28 42 23 33 15 23 30 40
investment Same 64 67 50 72 46 80 67 59 40
Lower 9 5 8 5 21 5 10 11 20
Average variat on (%) 6.8 6.2 11.9 4.2 9.0 6.0 4.0 7.0 18.6
Number of More 11 2 23 16 0 17 10 8 25
employees Same 81 91 69 74 100 68 79 90 50
Less 8 7 8 9 0 15 10 2 25
PROSPECTS FOR 2022
(as % of businesses)
Trend in sales Upward 47 52 54 37 46 48 41 49 60
f gures Stable 42 25 46 61 46 43 41 38 40
Downward 11 23 0 2 8 10 17 13 0
Trend in volume Upward 31 30 27 23 52 25 27 32 100
of investment Stable 63 59 65 75 48 70 70 58 0
Downward 6 11 8 2 0 5 3 11 0

Source: Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of Andorra.
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industrial companies indicated a major increase There was a turning point in the trend in
in turnover (10.9%) and the investment rate visitors’ numbers, which increased 4.1%.
(7.1%), contrasting with declines in 2020.

In 2021, services, the sector most damaged by the pandemic, saw a partial recovery, with real
GVA growth of 7.6%, after the 8.6% fall recorded in 2020. Nevertheless, the recovery was not
accompanied by job creation (the number of employees shrank 2.9%).
The Andorran economy: general developments | V. Activity and demand
By subsectors, the renewal of activity was fairly general, although the intensity varied immensely,
as happened in the declines in 2020. The subsector that suffered most from the consequences of
the health crisis, Commerce, health, hotels & catering, transport, information and communications,
saw GVA growth of 9% (contrasting with the 15.9% fall in 2020) and maintained its contribution
to total GVA at 28.2%. This trend is largely linked to the turning point seen in the number of
visitors to the country, which increased 4.1% to 5.4 million, after falling 36.8% in 2020, although
the level reached is still far from pre-pandemic levels (7-8 million visitors).

Commerce and hotels and catering In 2021, the other indicators linked to activity

joined the recovery but at a slower pace. in the tourism sector show signs of recovery,
but are still on negative ground. So, in 2021,
declines were recorded in the numbers of
accommodations and beds, the number of employees and total and average numbers of overnight
stays. In contrast, electricity consumption in hotels and catering increased and ski days sold in the
2021-2022 season multiplied by almost eight in comparison with the previous season.

Along the same line, the Chamber’s surveys have seen an improvement in businesses’ opinions
about the trend in business activity in the hotel sector in 2021, but still at low levels. So, hotels