Costa del Sol hotels forecast occupancy rate of over 85% in August

Benalmádena and Torremolinos are the resorts in most demand with rates of 97.5% and 90.3%, respectively, as well as Frigiliana, Torrox and Malaga city with more than 86% of the rooms already booked

Pilar Martínez

Wednesday, 31 July 2024, 18:25 | Updated 18:37h.

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The year's great flood of August tourists is already arriving on the Costa del Sol. Hotels are confident of surpassing last year's figures with the pull of the last-minute bookings that Spanish tourists tend to make. Data just released by the Aehcos association of hotel operators on the coast indicates that the establishments expect to fill 85% of their rooms, but with last minute bookings they could exceed last year's figures, when 88% of the rooms were filled. However, the group appealed for caution and warned that on this occasion the focus is on the slowdown in domestic tourism seen in July. The hope is that Spanish tourist numbers will gain momentum in the month par excellence for holidays.

President of Aehcos, José Luque, stressed that «with this slowdown in national bookings, the estimates for the coming months force us to be cautious, even so we hope that a good summer season will be confirmed for the whole sector». The employers' association insists that «the forecasts for the coming months are uncertain with the cooling of bookings in the domestic market».

Tourists who have chosen the Costa del Sol for their holidays have shown a particular preference for some Malaga province destinations. Aehcos pointed out that Benalmádena and Torremolinos are the resorts in most demand with occupancy rates of 97.5% and 90.3%, respectively, as well as Frigiliana, Torrox and Malaga city with more than 86% of the rooms already sold.

July balance sheet

The start of August also marks the time to take stock of the recently finished July, a month in which hoteliers have also improved on last year's results. Specifically, the number has grown by two points by registering occupancy levels of 86.66%, compared to the 84.63% with which hotels closed July 2023, a year that was the best in the history of tourism in Malaga. «We are satisfied with the end of July in which international tourism has been key, representing 70% of visitors,» Luque explained, pointing out there was a certain slowdown in demand at the end of the month and for this August due to the cooling of domestic demand. «The growth experienced comforts the sector, but we have some concerns about the evolution of the Spanish market, where a slowdown has been noted. Even so, we hope that a good summer will be confirmed», the association emphasised.

By destination, three municipalities enjoyed hotel occupancy rates above 90% in July, with Benalmádena leading the ranking with 95.18%, followed by Torremolinos, with 93.93%, and Mijas, with 91.15%.

Despite the caution, Aehcos has offered its provisional forecast for the month of September for which it expects tourists to occupy 82.82% of the province's hotel rooms.

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