Simon Hunter
HOTEL occupation in Spain this summer was within a hair’s breadth of that registered in 2019, the last full vacation season before the Covid-19 pandemic hit and disrupted global travel and the tourism sector.
Occupation over the summer months was just under 75%, compared to 77% in 2019.
The number of overnight stays was also close to the number registered in 2019, coming in at 46.67 million – 99% of the figure from four years ago.
That’s according to the latest figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE), which also show that the average price of a hotel room hit a record high this summer.
In August, people were paying an unprecedented average of €136.45 for a hotel room, which is 25% up on 2019, the figures show.
The biggest increases in prices were seen between 2021 and 2022, according to figures cited by Spanish daily El Pais, rising by 14% year on year in the months of August.
From 2022 to 2023, however, the increase was more tempered at 6.25%.
Forecasts within the sector are predicting that these strong figures will continue for the rest of the year, with hopes that the final performance will resemble that of 2019, when an all-time record for tourist arrivals was broken.
Read more:
- Number of US visitors to Spain rises 17% in a year
- Employment in Spain’s tourism sector hits record high in June
- Spain has ‘great potential’ to become major destination for sustainable tourism, says consultancy McKinsey
