Alex Trelinski
OVERNIGHT hotel stays in Spain reached 320.7 million last year- up by 85.6% on 2021, according to the National Institute of Statistics(INE).
Stays were just 6.5% lower than before the Covid pandemic in 2019, with domestic bookings boosting the figures.
There were actually 0.3% more domestic stays compared to 2019, but foreign tourists fell by 10.1%.
59.1% of overnight stays last year were between May and September- a 75.4% increase on 2021.
Travellers from the United Kingdom and Germany had 89.3 million overnight hotel stays in Spain last year- accounting for 44.5% of foreign visitors.
The UK total rose spectacularly by 305.8% compared to 2021, when British Covid travel restrictions were more severe than in other European countries.
The main destination chosen by non-residents was the Canary Islands, followed by the Balearic Islands and Catalunya.
Rising hotel prices did not seem to put many people off, despite an average hike of 17% last year.
The biggest increases were in the Madrid region(32.1%), Catalunya(25.7%) and the Basque Country(20.6%).
READ MORE:
- Tourism in Spain ‘totally recovered’ after pandemic, says industry study
- Spain’s Andalucia received 30.8 million tourists in 2022 and expects to break records in 2023
- Barcelona raises tourist tax again in bid to boost coffers and chase ‘quality tourism’
