James Warren
CORDOBA City has seen a critical drop in tourist bookings this summer, putting the region’s economy under severe pressure.
Figures revealed by Aehcor, the Cordoba Hospitality and Business Association, show that the region closes the month with just 38% occupancy in its hotels and apartments.
The study also shows that just 40% of accommodation remain open in the City centre, a worrying statistic for the thousands of workers relying on the tourist trade.
Aehcor’s spokesman, Manuel Fragero, said the city is ‘in the ICU’ thanks to the turbulent year so far.
“The situation is extremely serious. The staff are very discouraged because they don’t know what the future is going to be like,” said Fragero.
In an interview with Cordoban news outlet, Cordopolis, Fragero explained that a byproduct of falling occupancy rates is a price war between the hotels that remain open.
Falling prices and discount offers are being offered to encourage tourists to return to the city, causing low revenue figures.
Fragero blames the media’s scaremongering for the city’s drop in tourism.
“August is traditionally a good month for tourism in Andalucia, but travel restrictions have meant that international tourists cannot come,” said Fragero.
“This means we have to rely on national tourists, but if they have been made too scared to travel with talks of new outbreaks and spikes, no-one will want to travel.”
Aehcor’s predictions for September offer no light at the end of the tunnel either, with just 22% occupancy expected.
“The forecast is dire,” said Fragero.
There is however a beacon that is keeping the province alive; rural tourism.
In a dramatic buck of current trends, figures released by the INE has shown that rural accommodation is experiencing record high occupancy levels.
In July this year, a total of 5,150 tourists stayed in official rural accommodation, compared to 4,570 in 2019.
Some 20,000 overnight stays have been registered in rural accommodation, averaging at four nights per person, a figure not seen since 2015.
Campsites however recorded a 20.2% drop since 2019, with 153,891 registered stays throughout July, representing a 30.8% occupancy rate.
