Spanish tourism intones the "welcome Mr. Marshall". The United States has become the large issuing market that is growing the most, with an increase of 22.7% in the number of overnight stays in hotels in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2019, according to data provided by Exceltur this Thursday based on the information provided by the INE.
They are visitors with greater resources, who increase the average cost, who mainly opt for high-end services, and who, in addition, spend more days in Spain due to the distance they have to travel from their origin. It is precisely foreign demand, with growth of 12.7% in business sales in the last quarter, that is driving the growth of the country's main economic sector.
The powerful US market is followed by an increase in overnight stays of Mexican tourists, which have increased by 58% compared to before the pandemic, and of visitors from Canada, which have grown by 60%. This long-distance tourism compensates for the drop in traditional visitors, such as the Nordics (-17.5%), a tourism that has been affected by the economic problems suffered by the Norwegian airline, according to the employers' association; Germans (-4.7%), a country that has entered a recession; and Asians: Japan (-57%) and China (-61%). These eastern tourists are beginning to travel to areas of Southeast Asia in these months and the forecast is that they will begin to increase their visits to Spain before the end of the year.
The growth of foreign tourism does not mean that domestic demand is also growing, although to a lesser extent. 10.6% in spring, specifically. The new and competitive rail connections are key to this increase in domestic getaways, with liberalization and the entry of greater competition, which have managed to increase the number of high-speed passengers by 35% in the last three months.
The most favored destinations due to the increase in tourist activity, always according to data from the Exceltur association, are the coast: with the Balearic Islands (26.2%), Catalonia (22.2%), Andalusia, (20.3), Community Valencia (19.6%) and Canaria (17.5%) leading the growth. In inland destinations, the recovery of Madrid stands out, where spending on five-star hotels is mainly benefiting the capital. Nationwide, there has been a 32.6% growth in revenue per room in these VIP hotels in the last quarter.
Tourism companies anticipate a record-breaking summer, thus extending the improvement in activity seen in the last quarter. Specifically, according to Exceltur figures, the horizon is for the sector to grow by 10.9% in relation to the same quarter of 2019. This would improve the pre-pandemic data. The Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean coast and the north of Spain are at the forefront of these optimistic forecasts. In urban destinations, Barcelona, with an expected growth of 23%, and Madrid, with 20%, would lead the economic improvements.
With these perspectives, Exceltur has decided to revise the tourism GDP estimate for 2023 upwards, up to 178,831 million, 13.6% higher than in 2019. However, inflation and the increase in business costs will cause the Tourism GDP has not yet recovered the pre-pandemic level, standing 1% below that of the year before Covid, according to the tourism employers' association.
The employers wanted to highlight the improvement in employment conditions in the tourism sector. "More and better hiring is being done," said the president of Exceltur, José Luis Zoreda. At the end of June there are 126,000 more Social Security affiliates in these activities than in the same month of 2019. The labor reform has been used by companies to also reduce temporary employment to 7%. “It has not been because of the discontinuous fixed ones, Zoreda added, but because “fixed hiring has increased and remuneration has improved by 8%”.
The great challenge for tourism entrepreneurs is to recover the margins, affected by the increase in costs, and get the authorities to put a stop to tourist housing. To this end, Exceltur has requested that the legislation not allow accommodation platforms to advertise homes that do not comply with the regulations.
