Apartments and private holiday homes continue to be a very popular alternative to stay when traveling in Spain. Also in autumn.
According to the latest figures published by the Spanish statistical office (INE), in September the overnight stays in holiday dwellings, also dubbed tourist apartments, reached 5 million, which is 151.4% more than in September 2020.
The number of nights spent by resident travelers (national tourists) in this type of accommodation increased by 65.5% and those of non-residents (international tourists) soared by 390.4%. During the first nine months of 2021, the total number of overnight stays grew by 33.1% compared to the same period in 2020.
By region, tourist apartments in the Canary Islands, the Valencian Community and Andalusia were the most wanted by travelers in September. These regions recorded 1.3 million, 998,563 and 870,056 overnight stays in holiday homes, respectively.
The Costa Blanca coastline area, in the Alicante province, was the preferred destination for users of tourist apartments, with 566.686 overnight stays. The tourist spots with the highest number of overnight stays in September were San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Tías and Benidorm.
Total non-hotel establishments
According to the INE, the total of overnight stays in non-hotel establishments (apartments, campsites, rural tourism accommodation and hostels) exceeded 10.5 million in September 2021, which is 99.5% more than in the same month of 2020.
By origin of travelers, overnight stays of residents in Spain amounted to 5.9 million, 42.5% more than in August 2020. The total stays of international tourists in non-hotel establishments reached 4.5 million, which is an increase of 319%.
Compared to September 2019, before the pandemic, overnight stays in non-hotel establishments decreased by 18.9%.
However, it should be noted that the overnight stays of the travelers residing in Spain are above pre-pandemic levels, surpassing those registered in September 2019 by 18.6%. For their part, overnight stays by non-residents fell by 43.3% year-on-year in September.
