TOURISM

Spain's hotel industry still far from pre-pandemic occupancy levels

People look at the arrivals schedule on a display board at Madrid's Adolfo Suarez airport. Photo: Gustavo Valiente/dpa.

The Nomad Today

27 de December de 2021 (11:01 h.)

There is a long way to go before we can say that the recovery is complete

The Spanish hotel industry continues to transmit symptoms of business improvement, but has not yet reached the occupancy levels prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. And this is so whether we talk about national or foreign tourism.

According to the latest figures published by the Spanish statistical office (INE), in November overnight stays in hotel establishments exceeded 14.8 million. This represents an increase of 417% compared to the same month in 2020, when there were only 2.8 million overnight stays.

Based on the origin of the guests, the overnight stays of travelers residing in Spain exceeded 6 million, which represents 40.7% of the total. For their part, those of non-residents stood at over 8.8 million.

If the data is compared with November 2019, overnight stays in hotel establishments show a decrease of 19.0%. By origin, those of travelers residing in Spain fell by 16.0% and those of non-residents by 20.9%.

Source: INE.

These are encouraging data for an industry that has been hit hard by the successive waves of the coronavirus pandemic. But if the data is compared with November 2019, overnight stays in hotel establishments show a decrease of 19.0%. By origin, those of travelers residing in Spain fell by 16% and those of non-residents by 20.9%. Therefore, there is a long way to go before we can say that the recovery is complete.

Occupancy rate

In November, 11,798 hotel establishments were open in Spain, 43.4% more than in the same month of 2020. This represents 72.7% of the total of the directory of establishments in this month.

However, only 45.3% of the available beds were occupied, with an annual increase of 188.1%. The weekend occupancy rate by beds increased 247.5% and stood at 54.8%.

The Canary Islands showed the highest occupancy rate in November (67.6%). It is followed by the autonomous region of Madrid, with 49.6%.

Travelers from Germany and the United Kingdom account for 20.7% and 19.9%, respectively, of the total overnight stays by non-residents in Spanish hotels in November.