Alex Trelinski
JULY was a terrible month for hotels on the Costa Blanca according to the Benidorm-based Hosbec hoteliers association.
Figures compiled by Hosbec showed that Benidorm managed just 192,061 overnight stays, a massive 85 per cent reduction on what happened in July 2019.
The Costa Blanca as a whole saw a fall of 75 per cent in overnight occupancy.
80 per cent of the region’s hotels reopened in July following their enforced State of Alarm closure.
Hosbec added that the number of people employed by their members was half of the normal July workforce, with overall visitor numbers down by over 56 per cent.
The August figures are expected to be better as it is the key month for Spanish domestic tourism, but there will be little cheer from foreign markets like UK.
Many people chose not to travel to Spain due to coronavirus concerns and the 14-day quarantine for return travellers to Britain.
Hosbec estimated earlier this month that 90 per cent of Benidorm hotel rooms were being occupied by Spaniards as the much-vaunted return of foreign tourists turned out to be little more than a damp squib.
