The inflation he has been hitting the pocketsbut the desire to travel after the restrictions due to the pandemic trigger the optimism of the tourism sector ahead of the Easter holidays, which are expected to kick off the travel season. full hotels and one upward plane and train schedules press, if more, some high prices due to inflation that presage these will be the most expensive vacation of the last years.
“He desire to travel is above the adverse economic circumstances. Prices are going up more than we’d all like, but there’s a desire to travel after a 2020, a 2021 and a 2022 in which things did not go as we would like. This will probably be the most expensive vacation because the inflation matches the Increased demand and so? exercises increased price pressure“, recognizes the vice president of the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies (CEAV), Jose Manuel Lastra, who expects the activity grows between 5% and 10% above 2019 and tourist packages are 10% more expensive, which includes an average increase in hotel prices of 12% and airfares of 10%.
According to data from February of the CPI published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), from a beer until hotel rooms They are more expensive now than before the coronavirus, 30.5% and 25.5%, respectively, compared to 2017. The only thing that still appears below pre-pandemic levels are the plane tickets, despite the fact that the sector indicates that they are also higher. From the Airlines Association (ALA) recognize that tickets are generally more expensive because the costs have risen, but their distribution is unequal because some companies assume them and others transfer them.
In any case, the sector hopes that this week will mark the beginning of the tourist ‘boom’ that they anticipate will be catalyzed in summer. In 2022 they arrived in Spain 71.6 million tourists14.3% less than the record of 83.7 million registered the year before the coronavirus. This 2023 appears in all pools as the year of return to normality and the prospects, for the moment, are good. In January they arrived in this country 4.1 million foreign tourists, only 100,000 less than in 2019, with the recovery of European tourists, especially those from the United Kingdom, and a good reception from Americans. However, they also call for “moderate optimism” and “caution” due to the macroeconomic situation (with inflation, the war and interest rates) what could reduce purchasing power and constrain consumption.
80% occupancy
Between Friday March 31 and Monday April 10, the Spanish airports of Aena have scheduled 60,498 arrival and departure flights1.5% more than last year and a 4.6% below 2019. From this Monday, April 2 to 10, the airline Iberia It plans to deploy 6% more capacity than in Easter 2019 with almost 420,000 seats and Vueling has reinforced its capacity on more than 130 routes, including London, Florence and Ibiza from Barcelona and the route between Seville and Bilbao. For its part, Renfe will place close to 2 million more seats before its “high demand” forecasts, while Andalusia opens the arrival of the competition to the train, by the hand of the Iryo Company, which started on Friday route that connects Madrid with Seville, Malaga and Cordoba.
Also they Hotels forecast good numbers this week. According to the employer Cehat, the Beach hotels had 80% reservations in mid-March, those in the interior reached 65% and campsites 95%, to which must be added the last minute tourists that could raise occupancy to close to full capacity in coastal areas. The drop in cancellations and the increase in bookings with greater advance notice further reinforce the optimism that hovers over the sector regarding its return to normality. “The forecasts show a promising perspective,” said the president of Cehat, Jorge Marichal, last Thursday.
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The main Spanish hotel, Meliahas an occupancy of 75% in its vacation hotels and 60% in the urban ones, being able to reach 75%-80% in the case of cities like Palma de Mallorca and exceed 80% in the case of the Canary Islands. The company that runs Gabriel Escarrer forecasts sales 30% above those of 2019 after all its hotels have registered in 2022 double-digit growth in its average daily rate. The group palladiumfor his part, anticipates a occupancy around 80% in global termsslightly higher than that registered last year.
Return of the internationals
If during the pandemic national tourists were the ones who maintained the sector, after the covid most indicators point to a strong rebound of travel demand international tourism with the recovery of travelers from the main receiving countries already in the first month of the year. Especially good is the recovery of tourists from the three main issuing countries: United Kingdom, France and Germany. but also for him smooth running of American tourists. “The US market is strong despite inflation and airlines are taking advantage. Just as Caribbean destinations took the cake during the pandemic, now it is the turn of Spain, Portugal and Greece, which are experiencing significant growth. And also Latin America, especially the most Premium segment towards large cities like Madrid & rdquor ;, explains the head of Market Intelligence of the ForwardKeys platform, Juan A. Gomez.