Yet the crisis has led to the closure of 700 hotels and the sector employs 235,000 people, 3,000 fewer than before the pandemic
The tourism sector has had a full summer, with hotels fully occupied and restaurants calling for staff due to high demand. Some analysts predicted that by the end of September the situation would moderate and that the economy would lose momentum as tourism would not pick up, but that has not been the case. Hotel establishments exceeded 30 million overnight stays last October, representing a 25.4% increase compared to the same month of 2021 and equaling 2019’s pre-pandemic records, according to data published this Thursday by the INE.
The distribution of customers in hotels is different than before the pandemic. For example, in October 2019, of those 30 million overnight stays, 21.7 million corresponded to foreign visitors and only 8.7 to national tourists. On the other hand, in October 2022, the number of Spaniards staying in hotels increased to 9.8 million compared to 20.2 million foreigners.
This increase in demand has led to an increase in prices per room. For example, the INE data shows an increase of almost 11% in the average daily billing of hotels per occupied room compared to last year, about 100 euros. In fact, in October 2019, before the pandemic, the average room was billed at 85.8 euros, while this year it has risen to 99.7 euros, 16% more.
By category, the average room in five-star hotels costs 225.9 euros, a far cry from the 184 euros billed in October 2019. Four-star hotels sold their rooms for an average of 102.5 euros, also far above the 91.5 euros in 2019. .1 euros in 2019) and that of a star (69 euros compared to 59.7 euros in 2019).
The tourist destination with the highest average daily bill per room (ADR) was Marbella, where the average room cost €180.7 in the month of October. The biggest increase compared to last October’s price occurred in Madrid, where the room was billed on average at 127.2 euros, 30% more than in 2021.
Fewer hotels and fewer employees
Despite this good industry data, the pandemic has wiped out more than 700 hotels. For example, the INE figures show that a total of 15,360 hotel establishments were open in Spain in October 2019, while there are now 14,648.
Employment in the sector has also fallen, from the 238,608 workers who worked in hotels before the pandemic to the current 235,293.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
