80% declare good results

The damage left by the coronavirus pandemic on hotels and the tourism sector in general is now behind us. The economic recovery has been noticeable throughout Europe, but especially in Spain; and this is evident in the figures. In 2023, just over 85 million tourists travelled to our country – positioning itself as the second most visited in the world-, 18.85% more than in 2022. And 2024 is already surpassing the results that were at this time last year.

According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), By May, 41.78 million visitors had already traveled, which represents almost half of the total for 2023. In addition, this summer is expected to see better figures than the summer season of the previous year. As for overnight stays in hotel accommodation, the INE counts a total of 122.42 million during the first five months of the year, an increase of 8.2% compared to the same period last year.

And, although Europe is achieving a good economic recovery, the Spanish hotel sector is doing well. 78% of the accommodations have declared a good first half of the year for their companies, while 19% of the hotels have declared a good first half of the year for their companies. 80% have rated their current economic situation as very good -which represents four out of five-. A difference of 13 and 17 points, respectively, compared to the European Union average, according to the Barometer of accommodation in Spain 2024.

He 68% have reported improvements in occupancy rates, despite the fact that rates have risen -also by 68%-. In the EU, 48% have increased prices and only 49% have achieved more overnight stays. The Barometer also highlights that only 3% of Spanish hotels were dissatisfied with occupancy trends.

According to Eurostat, Spain was the third country in the European Union with the highest occupancy rate in 2023, with 65.63 -1.56 points less than in 2019 and 30.71 more than in 2021-. Ahead of it is Cyprus in first position, with 73.3 -7.5 points less than in 2019 and 17.9 more than in 2021-, followed by Malta with 67.4 -1.4 points more than in 2019 and 31.5 more than in 2021-. Meanwhile, The EU average is 52.8 -5.18 points less than in 2019 and 15.65 more than in 2021-.

The latest PwC and CEHAT Observatory, which analyses the evolution of the Spanish hotel sector and identifies future trends, indicates that our country leads the moderate growth prospects of the major countries of the European Union during 2024 and 2025 in economic terms. Although PwC has identified a slight drop in growth forecasts, a gradual improvement in the pace is expected until next year.

The hotel sector is recovering from the pandemic

The report prepared by PwC and CEHAT indicates that Hotel sector revenues have increased by 14% in real terms compared to 2019. Tourist accommodation has improved the data from before the covid-19 pandemic, this is partly due to the 4% increase in occupancy in the winter season. The greatest growth has been in Andalusia, with a rate of 101 out of 100 -93 in 2023-, and in Madrid, with a rate of 96-90 in 2023-.

The Reservations have also increased compared to the same season in 2023, especially during the Easter -a period in which expected incomes soared-. In addition, despite the accumulated inflation, the report points out that The growth forecast for hotels in Spain is favourable.

The Observatory also identifies a increased interest in neighbouring countries to travel to Spain. This last spring they stand out especially France and Italy, while in the United Kingdom and the United States a slight slowdown is observed.