Tourism up, construction down

When building goes, everything goes. Or is it tourism? In Saint-Barthélemy, the old saying (dating back to the 19th century) has clearly lost some of its meaning. Particularly after reading the annual report of the Institut d'émission des départements d'Outre-mer (Iedom), which was unveiled last Thursday.was unveiled last Thursday, October 17, at a presentation at the Hôtel de la Collectivité territoriale. Since the start of 2024, while the tourism sector has continued to strengthen, the building and public works sector has slowed slightly. This 2024 trend confirms the findings of 2023.

Booming maritime passenger traffic

In the first half of 2024, Iedom highlights the -relative- decline in air traffic compared with the same period the previous year. The number of passengers recorded between January and June was 117,153, compared with 124,740 in 2023, a drop of 6%. Nothing to be alarmed about, however, when it is pointed out that the balance sheet for the first quarter of 2024 is higher than those for 2019 (+11%) and 2017 (+10%). What's more, air traffic has obviously been reduced by the absence of Air Antilles. At the same time, maritime passenger traffic literally exploded.
Between January and June of this year, 137,803 travelers disembarked or embarked at Saint-Barth. This compares with 123,274 in 2023 over the same period. This represents an increase of 12%. An increase that becomes almost vertiginous when compared with the figures for 2019 (+41% pre-covid) and 2017 (+21% pre-Irma). The same applies to the number of cruise passengers, which is up 34% in the first half of the year compared to 2023, although this time it remains lower than in 2019 (-18%).

Rental accommodation on the rise
Still on the subject of tourism, the Iedom report mentions 21 hotel establishments in Saint-Barth, with a capacity of around 544 rooms. The eleven 5-star hotels account for 425 rooms. According to a survey by the Observatoire du Tourisme, in 2022, the average occupancy rate of these establishments was 68.1%, with an average length of stay of 5.5 nights.
According to data provided by the Collectivité and reported by Iedom, the island had 1,113 villas for rent in 2023. This represents almost 4,572 rooms. At the same time, Atout France counts 3,900 properties offered via online sales platforms. Iedom notes that "the supply of rental accommodation has expanded in 2023 compared with 2022 (+14.7%) and 2019 (+56%). "
In addition, the tourist accommodation tax brought in over 15.9 million euros for the Collectivité. This represents an increase of 5.6% over the year. Iedom points out that the hotel sector contributed 53% of this total (around 8.4 million euros).

Cement consumption down sharply
At the same time, as mentioned above, the construction sector is marking time. As the Iedom notes, while post-Irma reconstruction, combined with the island's strong appeal to outside investors and government orders, have boosted the sector's dynamism, there were signs of a slowdown in the first quarter. Iedom estimates that, for the six months to the end of June 2024, cement consumption is down 23.9% on the first half of 2023. However, the overall balance sheet for 2023 also shows an -8% fall (-12.6% in 2022, already) in cement sales, as well as a -16.5% drop in the number of employees in the construction sector.

Bank loans on the rise
While Iedom highlights the decline in materials consumption, its new director for Guadeloupe and the Northern Islands, François Groh, notes that real estate demand remains stable. In fact, real estate lending "remains on an upward trend", with growth of 6.7% in 2023. This trend was even more pronounced in the first quarter of 2024, with bank loans up 22% (979.1 million euros) on 2023 (805.2 million euros). 663.3 million euros were in loans to businesses (+30% on the first half of 2023), mainly in investment and housing loans. 297.8 million of outstanding bank loans concern households and 18 million "other agents".

PGEs currently being repaid
To cope with the economic shock caused by the coronavirus crisis, the government set up an exceptional guarantee scheme to support bank financing for businesses, to the tune of 300 billion euros: the state-guaranteed loan (PGE). In Saint-Barthélemy, 283 "entities" benefited from this scheme, for a total amount of 72 million euros. This represents 6% of the total number of PGEs granted in Guadeloupe and the Northern Isles, but 10% of the total amount. The retail sector was of course the main beneficiary of the scheme in terms of numbers (29%), but it was hotels and restaurants that benefited most in terms of amount (42%). Iedom reports that 96% of beneficiaries have "entered the repayment phase". While the amount outstanding remains at 47.8 million euros, 9% of PGEs have already been repaid in full, and 76% are expected to be repaid over a six-year period.

1.5 billion in financial assets in the bank
The figures that leave one dreaming are undoubtedly those for financial assets or, more simply, everything that comprises wealth (bank balances, securities, land, property rights, etc.). In Saint-Barthélemy, in the first half of 2024, these assets totaled 1.54 billion euros, up 12% on the same period in 2023. 814 million are held by households (+4% year-on-year), "mainly in the form of sight deposits" (in a bank account, for example), says Iedom, which adds: "But with a growing share of short-term liquid investments, which have become more attractive". 642 million of these assets concern companies (+15% year-on-year) and 84 "other agents".
At the end of 2023, 35,304 bank accounts were registered in Saint-Barthélemy. That's 2,391 more than in 2022 (+7.3%). Also at the end of 2023, the average outstanding balance on a bank account (excluding life insurance and securities accounts) in Saint-Barth was 38,536 euros (-2.7% on 2022).
François Groh, Director of the Institut d'émission des départements d'Outre-mer for Guadeloupe and the Northern Isles, notes that Saint-Barth " is maintaining its development strategy based on high-end tourism, while preserving its unique environment and modernizing its essential infrastructures". Nevertheless, he notes that some of these structures "are showing signs of saturation after two decades of rapid growth".