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Day: 22 December 2019

AS Monaco wins 5-1 in last match of 2019

by: Staff Writer
22/12/2019

AS Monaco ended the year with a veritable festival of goals against Lille and a fourth match undefeated in Ligue 1, giving them solid hopes for the return phase in January.

Despite a convincing start, the Red and Whites found themselves behind in the 13th minute, when Ikoné played in Osimhen who beat Lecomte to open the score. But AS Monaco reacted quickly. In the 23rd minute Ben Yedder intercepted a Lille pass in the middle of the field and found Gelson in the right of the area. The Portuguese did not hesitate against Maignan and equalised with force.

Having held their ground well up to this point, LOSC began to crumble and AS Monaco quickly took advantage. Just before the half hour of play, Aguilar ran up the right wing after a good pass from Gelson. His cross found Baldé’s head but left Maignan no chance of firing the ball under the bar. The Red and Whites reversed the score and did not stop there, despite excellent work from Lecomte at the end of the first period to repel two shots from Osimhen and Bamba.

On returning from the locker room, LOSC tried to react but were picked off a third time in the 52nd minute. Aguilar was once again at the heart of it with a perfect cross for Baldé, whose header was this time saved by Maignan. Ever opportunistic, Ben Yedder followed up and smacked the ball into the goal. AS Monaco made their breakthrough and went on to secure the match in the 64th minute. Gelson managed to reach Golovin, who was defended by Fonte but passed the ball to Aguilar who was in good position facing the Lille goal. Altruistic, as always, set up Ben Yedder for his double, achieving the fourth Monaco goal.

Far from being satisfied, the Red and Whites drove the point home at the very end of the match. Despite a penalty denied in the 77th minute following a handball from Gabriel, it was on a free kick that the fifth goal came in overtime. From the left side, Golovin put the ball in to the far post, where Glik threw himself at the ball and scored the last ASM goal of 2019.

With a final score of 5-1 and fourth game undefeated, AS Monaco has solid hopes for the return phase, which kicks off on 11th January against PSG at the Parc des Princes.

 

Photo: AS Monaco Official

 

Hotel and Restaurant sector continues with strong growth

by: Stephanie Horsman
22/12/2019

The hotel and restaurant sectors of Monaco have shown strong growth for the fifth year in a row.

Recently published statistics for the year 2018 by IMSEE, the official statisticians of Monaco, show that hotels and restaurants are the second largest private employers in the Principality, representing 8.4% – or €513.6 million – of the annual GDP, and 5.2% – or €746 million – of total sales figures, excluding financial and insurance activities.

This translates to this sector being the sixth highest contributor to the GDP and seventh in terms of sales figures respectively.  

With 305 establishments, 195 employers and nearly 7,800 workers, it is certainly an important part of the Monegasque economy and is second in the private sector only to scientific and technical activities, administrative services and support. The vast majority of those employed are French nationals, followed by Italians, though Monegasques represent a significant percentage. In fact, almost 45% of Monegasques employed in the private sector work in either a hotel or restaurant. They also tend to be in their mid to late 30’s or early 40’s and have made careers in this industry, leaving it fairly stable.

Hotels in the Principality brought in nearly €1 million more than just five years ago and restaurants can boast a jump in sales during the same period of roughly €300,000. That’s an impressive 11.9% total increase over 2017, with hotels being the dominant earners of this sector comprising 71.5% of money coming in.  

The massive gains are due in part to the reopening of the Hôtel de Paris and the completion of renovations at the Hôtel Columbus, which allowed Monaco to welcome more visitors, but also due to an economic agent used by the Principality that has consolidated the financial declarations of the different divisions under the heading Hotels and Restaurants. It is also noteworthy that over 80% of the hotel offerings are in the four or five star range, meaning they will have price points above the average.

On the downside, there were fewer total establishments in this sector than the previous year, with 23 closings and only 16 new openings, but the loss didn’t translate to lower sales overall. Another shortcoming is the number of women employed in these industries. They represent only 30% of workers compared to 40% in Monaco’s overall private sector work force.  

All in all, though, things are on the ups for the hotels and restaurants of the Principality, with continued growth forecasted for the future.