Tourism will remain one of the main drivers of Spain’s economy after 80 million international passengers arrived in 2022
After the pandemic, tourist demand has exploded and hotels are benefiting. In the 43rd edition of Fitur, Europe’s main tourism fair, to be held this Wednesday in Madrid, hoteliers have pointed to the rise in rates their rooms have experienced, both due to inflation and the rise in energy costs and the “question tree”.
This was confirmed by NH Group CEO Ramón Aragonés, who indicated that the rooms of his hotels, the most in the city, had rates 20% higher than those of 2019, before the pandemic broke out. And for this year, they will continue to grow until they are 10% to 15% higher than those of 2022. “It will be the best year in the company’s history,” noted Aragonés, who predicted that its hotels would overwhelm the urban sector in Europe. will lead. .
Van Meliá, his vice president and CEO, Gabriel Escarrer, emphasized that the group had a net profit of 52.6 million euros in 2022 after two very difficult years of the pandemic. Average room rates were 131 euros, 21.4% more than in 2021. According to him, tourists have emerged from the pandemic and want to spend more on Premium options, which is observed in the 36% growth in revenue for superior rooms.
In this sense, Escarrer assured that the rates for 2023 will be 7% higher than those of 2022, which in turn means that the prices will be 30% higher than those of 2019. “I see a long way to go for the rate, but this year there will be much more emphasis on occupancy,” said Meliá’s CEO, acknowledging that the outlook until Easter is “fantastic”.
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.
