The Spanish tourism industry once again exhibits excellent health with the Easter campaign. Neither the serious drought in key areas for the sector such as Catalonia and Andalusia, nor the resistance of the European Central Bank to lower rates (it will probably wait until summer), nor the geopolitical situation, with two wars at the doors of the continent, slow down the business. of pleasure trips.
Hoteliers, travel agencies and airlines consulted agree that the season starts with forecasts of breaking new records, although with great concern about the summer season in the 200 Catalan municipalities in which in theory the swimming pools will not be able to be filled, among others. restrictions.
The good progress of reservations, occupancy and prices for these coming weeks, which continue to rise above general inflation in the case of hotels (9% in February), has even surprised companies in the affected areas due to lack of water. Both the cancellation ratio and income and rates were at better values at the beginning of March throughout Spain compared to a year before, in particular, in Catalonia and Andalusia, indicates the Smart Observatory hotel sector report of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels. and Tourist Accommodations (Cehat) and PWC on the spring season.
“After a very good winter, this Easter we expect average occupancy of 85%, a figure that could increase depending on the weather,” underlines the president of Cehat, Jorge Marichal. This is a growth of 25% over 2019 data, which confirms the strength of the tourist engine. The sector weighs more than ever on the Spanish economy thanks to the combination of high demand, increased rates and job creation. In 2023, it generated 186,596 million euros of activity, indicates the latest business balance sheet of Exceltur, the entity that brings together the main companies in the field. The figure represents 12.8% of GDP, a historical maximum for this industry.
The large hotel chains confirm the good prospects for these days. From Meliá they explain that their vacation hotels are at a high level of increase in terms of income, "thanks to the double-digit improvement in the average price and a slightly lower occupancy than in 2023", due to the fact that this year Semana Santa is celebrated in the month of March. As for urban hotels, the evolution is even more positive than in resort hotels, with a double-digit increase in revenue expected, “thanks to the positive evolution of both occupancy and average rates.” The most popular destinations in Spain for hotel activity are Barcelona (28%), Madrid (17%), Alicante and Seville.
At Hotusa they point out that if last year was a record year, this 2024 "there are expectations of surpassing it." The Riu chain considers the same, in which they value that the early celebration of Holy Week will contribute to extending the activity of seasonal hotels, with occupancy similar to that of 2023. As for Barceló, they highlight the good evolution of advance sales, "especially in destinations such as the Canary Islands, Andalusia, Catalonia or northern Spain, regions more susceptible to last-minute sales, where today the average occupancy exceeds that of last year by ten percentage points." The estimated increase in the average daily rate is 11%. From the Hesperia chain, immersed in a repositioning of its brand's hotels, they estimate occupancy at around 85% in all of its establishments, while they foresee that the average daily rate per occupied room (ADR) will increase by 10% compared to the previous year. 2023. The hotel company Sercotel, for its part, estimates that occupancy will range between 80% and 90% depending on the day, with a prominent position for its hotels in Barcelona, which will reach 95%.
The large hotel chains thus confirm the optimism they showed at Fitur at the beginning of the year. The same occurs with airlines, which have launched an unprecedented schedule for this summer air season (from the end of March to October) in Spain, with a seat growth of 7.9%. “We believe that we are going to exceed the traffic recorded last year at this time, a year 2023 that was already a record,” says Javier Gándara, president of the ALA airline association.
The travel agencies associated with Acave also expect an increase in reservations of between 5% and 10% compared to last year, with a similar growth in prices. Nor have they detected any cancellations so far in destinations affected by the persistent drought, says the president of Acave, Jordi Martí. The tour operators that fill many of the hotels in the coastal areas and islands are uncertainly following the evolution of the lack of water and the measures to alleviate it, but for now they are waiting to have more visibility over the summer to make a decision, and the business In Spain and particularly in Catalonia it has not been affected to date. On the contrary, more tourists arrive than ever. The country broke records in 2023 with more than 85 million international visitors and for 2024 an increase of 3.8% is estimated, according to calculations by Caixabank Research, accompanied by an increase in spending.
Spain, all analyzes point out, is consolidating itself as a safe tourist destination in the face of the turbulence of competing markets. The scarcity of water resources and heat waves in summer do not stop demand, for now.
