April 2009 Spain Hotels Overview: Overnight stays increase by 2%

Every month, hoteles.es reports on the state of the hotel market in Spain by analysing the statistics released by Spain’s Institute of National Statistics (INE). These statistics cover every aspect of the Spanish hotel sector, ranging from hotel price variations and occupancy rates, to regional breakdowns and the national origin of hotel guests.

April 2009 Overview

For the first time in six months, overnight stays in hotels in Spain showed an increase when compared to the same period last year. April 2009 saw 2% more overnight stays than in 2008, an increase that is at odds with the general, recession-induced downward trend that has characterised the industry recently.

A major reason for this ‘anomaly’ as it were, is the fact that Easter fell in April this year (as opposed to late March in 2008). Traditionally, Easter is a busy time for the hotel industry in Spain, and the added revenue and volumes of hotel guests for this period has helped push the number of overnight stays past last year’s figure, totalling 19.7 million altogether. Among Spanish residents, this increase in overnight stays was 12%, whereas the fluctuation for non-residents was -5.9%.

However, in order to negate the skewed influence of Easter, an aggregate between March and April was taken and compared to last year, with results showing that, when combined, overnight stays for March-April in 2009 were 8.4% down, and 10.7% down for the entire first quarter.

Occupancy rates for April were 48.1%, which was down 1.2% on last year. As ever, the weekend figures were an improvement, with 53.5% occupancy rate, a fall of just 0.2% on 2008. In March this year, the hotel occupancy rate was 42.2%, so the steady trend for increasing occupancy levels as the year progresses was maintained.

As ever, Spain’s climate and wealth of resorts ensured millions of non-residents visited the country in April, with German and British holidaymakers accounting for 52% of the 5.3 million overnight stays recorded; a figure that was down by 7.9% for German holidaymakers (who accounted for 29.4%), and 9.7% for British tourists (22.6%).

By region, the Canary Islands were again the most popular destination, particularly for non-resident travellers seeking Springtime sun. Of all the overnight stays recorded throughout Spain in April 2009, 28.7% came from foreign nationals taking their holidays in the Canaries, a fall of 8% when compared to last year. In comparison, Spanish nationals preferred the destinations of Andalucia, Catalunya and Valencia, with overnight stays in these areas improved by 20%, 22.5% and 22.4% respectively.

In terms of occupancy rates, the Balearic Islands were the best performing destination, with 60.2% of all bedplaces filled for the month, followed closely by the Canary Islands (59.9%) and Catalunya (51.1%). Based on the Hotel Price Index (HPI), prices fell by 3.9% in April as compared to last year. For five-star hotels, this price drop was 8.3%, a figure that stood at 3.8% for four-star hotels.

Detailed Breakdown

Number of Travellers, Occupancy Rates and Overnight Stays

There were 6,577,924 hotel guests recorded in Spain during April 2009 - which is up by more than one million on the previous month - generating 19,682,136 overnight stays; 2% more than in April 2008. As is always the case, there were more Spanish residents as hotel guests than foreign nationals - 3,908,046 as compared to 2,669,878 - yet the gap between the two groups was narrower than it has been all year.

In terms of overnight stays, 9,490,862 were had by Spanish nationals, while that figure higher for non-residents - 10,191,274 - indicating that foreign visitors to Spain enjoyed longer holidays, while locals invariably took shorter breaks. As a collective figure, the average overnight stay was 2.99 nights.

Typically, four-star hotels proved the most popular, with 2,757,243 hotel guests recorded, generating a total number of overnight stays of 8,513,982. Three-star hotels were not far behind, with 2,034,418 guests recorded and 6,721,811 overnight stays enjoyed.

In terms of occupancy rates, the tourist area that had the fullest hotels in April was the Costa de Barcelona, with an occupancy rate of 65.84% of all beds filled, closely followed by Gran Canaria (62.06%) and Tenerife (61.78%). For overnight stays, Majorca was the most popular tourist area, with nearly 2.4 million nights recorded, of which 1,902,974 were had by non resident holidaymakers. For Spanish nationals only, hotels on the Costa del Sol saw the highest number of overnight stays, with 500,672 nights recorded.

Results by Autonomous Community

Andalucia - One of the largest Autonomous Communities in Spain, and home to the Costa del Sol, Andalucia enjoyed an understandably busy month. There were 1,324,374 hotel guests recorded for April, or 1 in 6 of all visitors to Spain. Most - 812,304 - were Spanish nationals, and the average stay was 2.68 nights, generating a total of 3,549,573 overnight stays. There were 2,545 hotels open, with an occupancy rate of 45.13%.

Aragon - Hotel occupancy rates in Aragon were just 30.23%, with only 794 hotels open. The average stay for the 168,463 hotel guests that visited the region in April was just 2.07 nights, with 348,605 overnight stays recorded.

Asturias - There were 113,856 hotel guests recored in Asturias in April 2009, of which 102,145 were Spanish residents and just 11,710 came from another country. These guests stayed a collective total of 227,193 nights, staying an average of two nights and creating an occupancy rate of just 29.56% in the 674 hotels that were open.

Balearic Islands - With an occupancy rate of 60.22%, hotels in the Balearics in April were the most profitable and fullest. Although relatively few in number, the 596 hotels that were open for business recorded 464,872 hotel guests (of which 339,124 were non residents) staying an average of 5.54 nights and creating 2,573,701 overnight stays in total.

Canary Islands - As ever, hotels in the Canary Islands attracted more non-residents than Spanish nationals, with 368,863 of the 557,834 guests recorded hailing from foreign shores. There were 3,634,393 overnight stays generated by these guests, staying an average of 6.52 nights - the highest in Spain. Occupancy rates were healthy too, with the 485 hotels open for business an average 59.94% full for the month.

Cantabria - Hotels in Cantabria in April - all 378 of them - achieved an average occupancy rate of just 35.52% for the month, which was some way below the national average. These figures equate to 83,133 hotel guests, of which 70,948 originated from Spain and just 12,185 came from abroad. An average stay of 2.27 nights generated a total of 188,351 overnight stays.

Castilla y Leon - The autonomous community of Castilla y Leon proved its appeal among Spanish travellers in April, attracting 364,760 hotel guests, of which the vast majority - 298,568 - hailed from Spain and stayed an average of 1.75 nights. There were 639,956 overnight stays recorded in total, while the occupancy rates for the region’s 1,451 hotels was 34.99%.

Castilla-La Mancha - Hotels in Castilla-La Mancha recorded an average occupancy rate of just 33.85% in April. The area’s 816 hotels attracted 184,608 guests for the month (of which just 31,444 were non residents), leading to 336,631 overnight stays, with guests staying an average of 1.82 nights.

Catalunya - There were 1,221,043 hotel guests recorded in Catalunya for the month of April, with the slight majority - 655,813 - hailing from abroad. The area’s strong universal appeal was evident in the other figures too: while the average stay was slightly below the national average at 2.66 nights, Catalunyan hotels generated a total of 3,251,208 overnight stays and an occupancy rate of 51.10% in its 2,056 hotels that were open for business.

Community of Valencia - Hotels in the Autonomous Community enjoyed a relatively healty average occupancy rate of 50.89% in April, with an estimated 1,034 establishments open. There were a total of 601,445 hotel guests recorded for the month, generating a total of 1,968,963 overnight stays, with the average hotel stay above the national average at 3.27 nights.

Extremadura - There were only 15,976 non-resident guests recorded at hotels in Extremadura for April 2009, which is a pretty small percentage of the 116,710 total. The average stay per guest was 1.82 nights, and 212,829 overnight stays were recorded in total, while the average occupancy rate for the region’s 395 hotels was 39.45%.

Galicia - Galicia had a total of 1,524 hotels open in April, with an average occupancy rate of just 29.52%. This rural and green corner of Spain is largely overlooked by sun-seeking non-resident tourists, evidenced by the 47,579 foreign hotel guests; a small percentage of the 262,779 recorded in total. The average stay was 2.11 nights, with 554,916 overnight stays recorded.

Madrid - Spain’s capital city and its surrouding areas attracted a total of 741,921 hotel guests in April, of which 424,629 were Spanish nationals and 317,271 were non-residents. The average stay was 1.92 nights, which is below the national average, while 1,421,773 overnight stays were recorded and the 1,175 hotels were 48.41% full.

Murcia - Murcia is one of Spain’s smallest autonomous communities, and only had 194 hotels open in Spain. However, this hot corner of the country has some fine beach resorts, and so has plenty of appeal, particularly as the weather becomes more clement. Occupancy rates for April were 43.14% on average, while 87,483 hotel guests were recorded, staying an average of 2.74 nights and generating 239,315 overnight stays.

Navarra - Navarra drew in 62,665 hotel guests in April, of which 49,258 were Spanish nationals and just 13,407 were non-residents. In total, there were 117,413 overnight stays recorded, with the average stay per guest just 1.87 nights. Of the 290 hotels open in the region for the month, the average occupancy rate was 34.24%.

Pais Vasco - The Basque Country had 343 hotels open in April, with an average occupancy rate of 43.53%. In total, 314,678 overnight stays were generated, with the 167,148 hotel guests each staying an average of 1.88 nights.

Rioja - The Rioja region of northern Spain attracted a total of 46,261 hotel guests for the month of Apri, with 37,878 originating from Spain, and just 8,384 classed as non-residents. The average length of stay was 1.80 nights, with a total of 83,343 overnight stays recorded. Average occupancy rates for hotels in La Rioja were just below the national average at 43.76%.

Ceuta - There were only 13 hotels open in Ceuta in April, with an average occupancy rate of 40.26%. This Spanish enclave of northern Morocco attracted 5,117 hotel guests (of which 1,215 were non-residents), staying an average of 2.09 nights and generating 10,681 overnight stays.

Melilla - Another enclave on Morocco, Melilla had only 10 hotels open in April, with an average occupancy rate of just 34.67%. This equated to 8,660 overnight stays, with the 3,452 hotel guests staying an average of 2.51 nights.

Non-Resident Origins

There were 517,720 German holidaymakers recorded as tourists at hotels in Spain during April 2009, which represents the largest single foreign influx. Next up were the Brits, with 471,274 hotel guests recorded, closely followed by those originating from France (368,098) and then Italy (186,301).

In total, almost half of the 6,577,924 hotel guests in Spain in April can from a foreign country - 2,669,878. However, non-residents stayed longer than Spain nationals, generating 10,191,274 overnight stays, as compared to the 9,490,864 enjoyed by residents. Germans accounted for 2,995,664 of those overnight stays, while British tourists collectively accrued 2,300,028. Despite the large number of French visitors, the 971,163 overnight stays they enjoyed suggests French tourists opted for shorter holidays in Spain; a fact that owes much to France’s close proximity to Spain, making it easier for French tourists to enjoy a short weekend break, for instance.

Hotel Price Variations

With the average price for a hotel in Spain in April falling by 3.9% when compared to last year, the eight-month long trend of tumbling prices continued. In terms of regions, most areas of Spain followed suit with their price cuts; some more than others. Hotels in Aragon were 21.3% cheaper this April when compared to last, while that figure for hotels in Madrid was -10.3%, and -8.8% for Catalunya. Interestingly, hotels in the Canary Islands were some 3% more expensive than this time last year.

Conclusion

Largely, most trends in Spain’s hotel industry were continued in April. Prices fell, Germans and Brits accounted for most of the foreign tourists, and the popular areas remained popular - The Canaries, The Costa Del Sol, The Balearics and the cities of Madrid and Barcelona.

And, while overnight stays increased by 2% when compared to last year, this can solely be attributed to the fact that the popular Easter weekend fell in April in 2009, as opposed to March in 2008. Aside from this slight anomaly, it is ‘as you were’ for Spain’s hotels…as the summer season approaches, all figures have increased steadily yet, when compared to the same period as last year, the economic climate appears to still be having a negative effect on holidaymakers’ attitudes toward travel.