Date Published: 21/11/2019
ARCHIVED - Cartagena tourism sector shows impressive growth, Murcia lags behind
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
In terms of tourism job creation Cartagena ranks above Fuengirola and Puerto de la Cruz
Despite the problems facing the tourism sector in the Region of Murcia a survey compiled by Exceltur, an organization which represents many of the leading Spanish tourist businesses, includes the municipality of Cartagena in their list of the most economically successful this summer.
Cartagena is ranked 16th in terms of the number of jobs created between June and September 2019 in the tourism sector, although the city is a long way behind the top three in the list. While the figure quoted for Cartagena is 6,368 (an increase of 4.1 per cent over the summer of 2018), in Palma de Mallorca the equivalent is 38,313, a total followed by those of San Bartolomé de Tirajana in Gran Canaria (21,652) and Benidorm (18,372). On the other hand, it is more than the totals for well-known tourist destination including Fuengirola (in the Costa del Sol) and Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife.
The rest of the top 15 is made up of Calvià in Mallorca), Adeje (Tenerife), Marbella, Ibiza, Arona (Tenerife), Torremolinos (Málaga), Salou (Tarragona), Pájara (Fuerteventura), Mogán (Gran Canaria), Lloret de Mar (Tarragona), Alcúdia (Valencia) and Roquetas de Mar (Almería).
On the other hand, though, the average price per night stayed in hotel rooms in Cartagena is among the lowest in the 53 municipalities at just 65.10 euros, as opposed to an average throughout the country of 91.40 euros.
Of course, Cartagena is a large municipality with numerous coastal resorts in La Manga, the Mar Menor and on the Mediterranean coast from Cabo de Palos to Isla Plana, and the figures are also boosted by cruise ship visitors, but these latest figures must be seen as something of an achievement as well as a vindication of the city’s claim to be the tourism capital of the Region of Murcia. In fact, the year-on-year increase is the 9th most significant in the 53 municipalities included in the survey.
It is interesting to note that while the performance of Cartagena as a tourist destination is improving, the city of Murcia lags a long way behind. This summer only 3,719 people were working in the tourism sector in the regional capital, an increase of just 1 per cent over last year, and hotel room profitability index calculated by Exceltur was the fourth lowest among all of the cities included in the “urban destinations” category. Occupancy was just 57.7 per cent, and while efforts are made to promote Murcia’s gastronomy and cultural offerings it is fair to point out that in terms of promoting to visitors from abroad the city’s approach appears uncoordinated and far from committed.
The arrival of the AVE high-speed rail service may help to stimulate more domestic tourist activity in terms of visitors from elsewhere in Spain, but still the Town Hall of Murcia shows little or no interest in reaching potential international visitors by engaging in active online promotion in English. Were it to do so, there would surely be an increase in activity all year round, with more northern Europeans either choosing the city as their main destination or including a visit during their stays in other parts of the Costa Cálida.
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