Although the summer season has been extended to the end of October this year, the verdict is already in: the Costas saw their best-ever summer this year, with record levels of hotel occupancy resulting in price increases of up to 15%, and higher than expected visitor expenditure recorded in restaurants and bars. From Marbella to Malaga, the Costa del Sol's hotel sector was bursting at the seams, prompting some travel portals to issue warnings that due to popularity:
Around 87% of holiday accommodation was booked up some ten days in advance of any chosen date one might care to type into the search engine hoping to find a double room in Malaga province towards the latter part of August.
Owners of Costa del Sol Beach Bars and Restaurants are delighted
Just trying to book a table at a humble beach restaurant on a Sunday, the traditional “eating-out” day for families, proved difficult. In the heart of Malaga, finding an empty restaurant table on an outdoor terrace was practically impossible. As for reserving one's very own little place at the beach by putting down flip-flops and towel...even that was fraught with difficulties this summer due to overcrowding at the most popular playas.
Unprecedented Demand for Spanish Costas
Foreign demand shot up dramatically because Spain's traditional rivals in the tourism sector, Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia, were all experiencing political and economic unrest. In July 2016 alone, around 19% more foreign visitors chose to stay at the Costa del Sol than in the same month the year before. Domestic tourism, however, suffered greatly from Spain's continued high unemployment figures. Spanish tourists stayed away in droves in 2016, resulting in a 14% drop.
Hoteliers couldn't be happier though, and that's without the final figures for August being available just yet: already hoteliers are celebrating the best summer ever in terms of hotel occupancy and room rates achieved.
“Just through advance bookings we were 85 per cent full in August, three or four per cent higher than at the peak time last year, and it is possible that with last-minute bookings that will go up to 90 per cent, which would be fantastic,” beamed Luis Callejón, president of the Aehcos Hotel Association of the Costa del Sol.
However, for tourists used to shop around for last minute deals this was not a good year. Travel portal Quehoteles.com for example saw 30% more advance reservations this year than in 2015, which meant prices for holiday accommodation went up. By how much, that is still a matter for hot debate.
Website Trivago stated hotel room prices went up by almost 6% compared to August 2015, from an average price of 170.00 Euros for a double room to 180.00 Euros per night. This increase followed on from an even bigger one that occurred at the Costa del Sol between 2014 and 2015, when hotel prices increased by ca. 22%, according to hotel comparison website Trivago's own fgures. After several years of stagnating prices, this came as quite a shock to frequent Spain visitors used to shop for last-minute bargains.
Hotel portal Quehoteles.com saw an even greater price war going on, according to co-founder Miguel Ángel Ferrero, who believes other factors are also responsible for this season's record results.
“The average price of hotel rooms on the Costa del Sol in August has been about 15 per cent higher than last year. Last-minute sales fell in July and August because of lack of availability and higher prices, and some places have imposed a longer minimum stay this year. This is in line with hoteliers’ high expectations of the international market, because there have been fewer beds available and prices have been higher,” he said.
Most popular Costa del Sol Resorts of 2016
The travel site also saw a slight shift in the resorts chosen this year. In 2016, the most popular resorts were Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Marbella and Torremolinos. Between them, they accounted for more than 80% of bookings.
Miguel Ángel Ferrero explained: “Also, stays in all-inclusive hotels have risen by about 26 per cent, and the average stay in those resorts has been seven nights.”
It will take some time before the full figures for this year's tourism success will be available, as calculating the impact of residential tourism is always tricky. How much do visitors contribute to Spain's economy, when they come to stay in their Marbella holiday homes or their villas in Torremolinos? They book water sport course, eat out, go shopping and sight-seeing, but because they do not stay in hotels, it can be difficult to gauge their overall numbers and how much they spent in a season.
The Costa del Sol's hotel association is confident that prices will continue to recover over the next few years; already Andalucia's hotel prices are back to what they were in 2008, when the world-wide economic crisis hit Spain hard. According to Luis Callejón, the Costa del Sol has a bit of leeway before prices reach levels charged in other parts of Spain. The Costa del Sol Tourist Board confirmed that, given the fantastic amenities on offer in Andalucia, there are reasons for justifiable price increases.
“We are not the most competitive destination in terms of prices. In fact, we are the fourth most expensive in Spain after the Balearics, Benidorm and Canary Islands, with an average price of over 100 euros per room,” said a source from the Tourism Department in the provincial government. Mallorca and Ibiza also saw a record-breaking summer this year, with prices at a premium for hotel accommodation.
Given this rising price trend, it is perhaps not surprising more people are choosing to buy a holiday apartment in Marbella or other favourite Costa del Sol resort. Now's the time to make enquiries with estate agents, before the next summer holiday is about to start!