Walter Finch
MARBELLA has become Spain’s most expensive tourist destination for hotel stays, according to the latest figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).
The data reveals that hotels in the Costa del Sol hotspot commanded an eye-watering €214 per night.
The figure significantly outpaces other major tourist destinations, with Barcelona trailing at €173 and Madrid at €153 per night. Malaga city ranked notably lower at €139.
“We’ve seen record-breaking hotel profitability, with rates soaring to €332 in August and €299 in December,” Marbella’s Mayor Ángeles Muñoz said.
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“These figures prove we’re successfully tackling seasonality while strengthening our position in new markets, particularly the United States.”
The luxury resort town broke its own record in eight out of twelve months last year, while also achieving historic highs in revenue per available room, averaging €148 throughout the year, with August peaks reaching €289.
The statistics paint a picture of a booming tourism sector, with hotel occupancy between April and October hovering near 80% – an unprecedented achievement for what was traditionally considered the off-season.
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Visitor numbers tell an equally impressive story, with the city welcoming 719,151 tourists who accounted for 2,584,174 overnight stays.
Spanish tourists led the pack with 201,923 visitors, followed by British holidaymakers at 120,685. Germany (33,621), France (33,092), the Netherlands (29,130), Ireland (28,833) and the United States (26,588) rounded out the top markets.
Tourism Director Laura de Arce highlighted the varying length of stays among different nationalities.
“While Spanish visitors typically stay for 2.65 days, making shorter but frequent visits throughout the year, international tourists average 3.82 days, with British, German, and Irish visitors typically enjoying the longest stays,” she said.
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The city’s tourism office has been particularly focused on capturing the American market, recently launching a major promotional campaign in New York that included video displays in Times Square and Hudson Yards.
The strategy appears to be paying off, with growing interest from US visitors in both tourism and real estate investment.
Muñoz added that these figures ‘reaffirm our leadership and commitment to quality, moving away from mass tourism models’ – a strategy that appears to be paying dividends for the upmarket Costa del Sol destination.
