The record was sniffed on the Catalan coast after a great Easter and an exciting spring. But after the euphoria, with prospects of even breaking the top records of 2019, before the pandemic, the tourism sector is worried. The reasons, a May, June and the first half of July with a general slowdown in the arrival of tourists, also seeing that the reservations for the peak of the season are not yet at the expected pace in hotels, campsites or apartments.
It won't be a bad summer, not by a long shot, but it will have to be rowed hard in the hunt for more last-minute bookings to fill the tourist accommodation. Full occupancy in August is also not guaranteed and offers will come into play, especially in hotels with more places. It cannot even be compared to what is happening in Barcelona, euphoric.
"Things have cooled down and slowed down, it will be difficult to reach full employment this end of July and August because we are noticing that markets that responded very well after the pandemic, such as the national and the French, are a little more cold The sector is reacting, if there are empty rooms, prices are adjusted or minimum stays are reduced, despite the fact that it is not the most appropriate", explains Albert Savé, president of the Costa Daurada and Terres de l'Ebre Hotel Association.
On the Costa Brava, in a situation with many parallels, the majority of hoteliers and restaurateurs have seen how this July they have returned to reality after a 2022 of atypical euphoria, when occupations of more than a 90% The explosion of customers who after the covid years preferred a “safe destination” then filled hotels, apartments and campsites. The prospects continue to be, despite everything, "very good", according to the Girona Hospitality Association, with an 80% occupancy forecast for this July.
Further south, half of the Maresme hotels have been surprised by the drop in bookings for the first half of July, which in some cases did not exceed 65% occupancy. Jordi Noguera, president of the Gremi d'Hotels del Maresme, is unable to find an explanation for what has happened, but ventures that "during the week many groups are missing from the hotels".
The lack of reservations is not repeated at weekends, when demand in areas such as Pineda de Mar or Malgrat has reached 85% thanks to national tourism. "But we miss the German and English customers", adds the president of the hoteliers, possibly because they are affected by the economic recession in their country.
After closing a June with an average occupancy of 67% at the Costa Daurada and Terres de l'Ebre hotels, July will be between 70% and 80%, below expectations. In the hotels of the Costa Brava Center group, with small establishments in the Baix Empordà, they will go from 90%-95% of last year to between 85% and 90%.
At campsites, which experienced a post-pandemic boom, expectations have also been lowered. "They were very high, but now there is moderate optimism. Many reservations, especially from local customers, will be last minute", emphasizes Mireia Sans, president of the Association of Campsites of the Costa Daurada and Terres de l'Ebre. "We are not like last year, but it is logical, we came from two years of pandemic and people were crazy to go out", adds the vice-president of the Girona Camping Association, Josep Maria Pla.
There are other factors, such as the effects of inflation on families' pockets or the recovery of tourism from large trips abroad. "We notice that there is a certain desire to change destinations", says Toni Bachiller, entrepreneur in the Palamós restaurant sector, who has also noticed this first fortnight of July that "there is a lack of tourists". There are other factors, such as the near disappearance of Russian tourism. "We're suffering, we haven't been able to replace him", highlights Savé from the Costa Daurada.
"In 2019, the weekends were crazy and you couldn't absorb all the demand, and during the week there were practically only foreigners", recalls Joan Carles Sánchez, owner of three restaurants and a hotel in Calella de Palafrugell and vice president of the Union of Hospitality and Tourism Entrepreneurs of the Central Costa Brava.
It doesn't help that families are struggling to make ends meet. The president of the Professional Association of Hospitality Entrepreneurs of Tossa de Mar, Francesc Zucchitello, considers the interest rate hikes of the European Central Bank to be key. "Since the beginning of July we have registered 22% of cancellations".
Another, more secondary factor, the 23rd J. "The electoral calendar may have delayed many holidays for families who were unsure when to take them", says Esther Torrent, president of the Tourist Association of Costa Brava-Pyrenean Apartments in Girona . This sector expects to close with 70% employment in July, ten points less than a year ago.
