SUMMER TOURISTS BRING WELCOME RELIEF

Tourism on the Costa del Sol is up. As July ended it became clear that hotel occupancy was 5% higher than at the same time last year, and it looks as if August will follow suit too. Hotel occupancy in Malaga is estimated to be 7% higher in August than in 2009.

The President of the Association of Hostelry Businesses in the Costa del Sol (AEHCOS), José Carlos Escribano, confirmed these statistics at the end of July. He added that if everything goes to plan average hotel occupancy for August will be 87%, with many hotels having to dig out their “Completo” or “Full” signs.

It looks as of the summer will be what keeps most of the hotels in the area afloat, after a pretty grim start to the year. Many hotels were in danger of having to close after the long winter and a very low number of bookings but it now looks as if the improved takings for the summer may enable them to keep going.

National tourism is also an added bonus for the tourist sector of Malaga. The area, which has traditionally been the holiday playground of Northern Europeans, is becoming increasingly popular with Spaniards from the North, in search of guaranteed sunshine, good beaches and lots of fun.

Last minute bookings have also become more popular in Spain, meaning that hotels have to be pretty well prepared for tourists turning up in search of a room for a night, and staying longer if they like the service. The month long bookings that many Spaniards used to make have become shorter in general, with visitors showing flexibility and more independence.

The spirit of adventure has grown, with many driving to a holiday resort and finding somewhere to stay when they get there.

Another difference is that, in general, Spaniards are taking shorter holidays to save money, and spending less when they are on holiday, perhaps eating out fewer times than previously or generally watching their spending. Also, the hotels are fuller from Thursday to Sunday than during the rest of the week.

Bookings made through travel agents have actually gone up by 6% in the first six months of the year, and his pattern looks set to continue for the rest of the year.
Residents of Malaga are very conscious of the cost of their own holidays before they decide where they´re going, looking at last minute offers and deciding the day before where to travel. The number of trips abroad and long haul flights have gone down amongst Andalucians.
A surprising piece of information is that expensive hotels and resorts are the first to sell out in Spain, occupied by both national and international tourism, showing that the crisis hasn´t affected everybody in the same way.
Escribano pointed out in a concluding remark that the rise in the number of tourists had been brought about without having to lower prices.

“What we must concentrate on is the service we offer these visitors and be extremely friendly to tourists,” he added, and confirmed that the quality of the beaches is the biggest draw for visitors.