Date Published: 23/09/2020
ARCHIVED - Hotel occupancy in Spain down 64 percent in August
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Journeys taken by Spanish nationals kept the sector alive this summer
There’s no doubting that the hotel, hostelry and tourist sectors are probably the worst hit by the coronavirus situation; in the early months of the year travel was minimal, with most of the country locked down and during the two summer months the number of restrictions on travel to Spain and quarantines for those who did travel, deterred international travellers as the number of cases in Spain once again began to rise.
As a result, hotels received fewer visits in the month of August, the average stay was lower and the prices per night also fell.
Overnight stays in hotels fell by 64.3% during the month of August compared to the same month of the previous year, as confirmed on Wednesday morning by the National Institute of Statistics, INE, in its Hotel Tourism Situation report.
64.3% is the smallest fall of the spring/summer season; after the drops of 66.5% in March, 100% in April, 99.2% in May, 95.1% in June and a resounding 73.4% in July, the August figures are a significant improvement, with 5.8 million travellers in August, who made 16.8 million overnight stays, mainly in four-star establishments. These figures represent 45.2% and 35.7%, respectively, of the totals a year ago.
Spanish travellers saved the season from complete disaster
With long-haul travellers still out of the game and the number of European countries that did not recommend travel to Spain, the domestic market became the main supporter of hotel activity in August, with a total of 4.6 million visitors, compared to 1.2 million non-residents, with 12 million nights billed to the domestic market as opposed to 4.7 million to foreigners.
During August the Region of Murcia notched up 201,573 overnight stays, with 175,589 corresponding to Spanish national travellers and 25,984 to foreign visitors, but the dependence on the domestic market can clearly be seen in the numbers visiting the region; 71,691 Spanish residents and 10,157 foreigners.
The level of occupancy in Costa Cálida hotels was 49.2%, nearly 30% less than in August 2019 when occupancy was 78.9%.
Average stay down
Fear of lockdown was the principal contributor to the decision by many Spanish travellers to take shorter breaks, but more of them, the result of which was that the average stay was reduced by 21.1% compared to a year ago, standing at 2.9 nights per traveller.
Prices fell
Hotel prices fell by 9.6% compared to August 2019. In the Region of Murcia the price stood at 89.57 euros per night, with a decrease of 4.55%.
Main destinations
Cantabria (70.6%) and Principado de Asturias (68.2%) are the autonomous communities with the highest degree of hotel occupancy in August, due to their popularity with residents of Madrid and their proximity to the capital. Fear of lockdown, as occurred in Catalonia, promoted families to opt for principally low density rural accommodation, near to their permnent base, so that should a lockdown be anounced, a quick dash home could be made easily.
The hotels in Colunga and Ribadesella (Principality of Asturias), Suances (Cantabria) and Broto (Huesca) are the tourist spots with the highest occupancy rates, above 80%.
A few figures for other regions:
- The Balearic Islands invoiced 80.2% less during the month, with 74% less visitors than last year.
- Hotel stays in Andalucia were 53% lower than last year.
-The Canary islands lost 71% of its hotel nights, 4.7 million nights less than in 2020.
- Madrid lost 79% of its normal hotel trade during August, and prices fell by over 10%.