The recovery of the exams that the educational centers concentrate in the first weeks of July, instead of in September as was traditional, and the unexpected call for general elections for the 23rd of the month that begins today, has meant a brake on hotel reservations made by Spanish travelers, according to the interpretation of the Valencian hotel management Hosbec.
From the data provided by the establishments in the Valencian Community, it can be deduced that the establishments will reach 90% occupancy this summer, but the rate of reservations for July has slowed down slightly due to the aforementioned causes.
At the gates of July, through its Big Data tool, Hosbec has prepared the report on the foreseeable behavior of tourist demand in the next two months. The study highlights that in all the destinations of the Valencian Community the data indicates that the values of 2022 will be exceeded in all the months of the summer campaign. The summer of 2022 is already a valid period for comparative analysis as it was the first summer free of restrictions, masks and without any limitation to travel.
If we compare the forecasts with 2019, we only find that in July the forecast is still a bit lower (-1.2%), but the rest of the season also shows positive data and slight growth.
In addition, this drop in data in July has two clearly identified causes: on the one hand, there is the electoral period, which will have an impact on the vacation calendar, and on the other, there is the period of recoveries and school exams that are held this first fortnight. July, and that especially affects family tourism.
The behavior data in the different tourist areas of the Valencian Community are quite similar. Reservations are currently at 80% for July and close to 90% in August, this forecast being practically uniform both in Benidorm and in Costa Blanca, Valencia or Castellón.
However, the predictive models indicate that 89% will be reached for the month of July as a whole, "and very possibly the reserves will be reactivated once the procedure for the appointment of members of the polling stations in which we are currently immersed has finished" says Fede Fuster, president of Hosbec.
On data of crystallized reservations at the moment, that is, those that are already effectively established in the reservation systems and many of them paid and confirmed, the 4-star superior hotels in Benidorm are the ones that show the best values, with almost 84 % of confirmed reservations, while the rest of the destinations in the Valencian Community are between 70 and 80%.
As for the economic values, the average rates per room are between 160 euros on average in Benidorm, 175 in Castellón, 188 on average for the Costa Blanca and more than 200 euros in the province of Valencia.
