Costa del Sol tourism experts forecast a better September than last year

September has started and the final stretch of the high tourist season is under way. This is a month in which the tourist profile is different and so are expectations. After the two most intense months of the year, which began with poor but later improved forecasts, September aims to maintain the the trend with occupancies that hoteliers expect to exceed the 88.7% of 2024, potentially reaching 90% in Malaga, Torremolinos and Benalmádena, according to the Aehcos аssociation of hoteliers on the Costa del Sol. The challenge is to surpass the three million overnight stays that hotel establishments, tourist flats, rural houses and campsites achieved in this same period last year. This figure does not include the activity of private tourist homes, although this sector is also predicting a better September.

The president of the tourist home association of Andalucía (AVVA-Pro), Juan Cubo, said that "the market in Malaga province shows a much more favourable behaviour than that observed in September in 2024". Occupancy currently stands at 56%, compared to 48% recorded a year ago. Furthermore, this growth has been achieved even with a 25% increase in prices to 174 euros per night. "This increase in rates confirms a more ambitious strategy of accommodation and a demand willing to pay higher rates," Cubo says, adding that this data is also key to raising the profitability of these businesses by up to 37%. "Overall, September is shaping up to be a much stronger month than in 2024, with more bookings, significantly higher prices and a RevPAr - the indicator that measures profitability - clearly higher, which reinforces the perception of an expanding market with greater dynamism," he said. Cubo also stated that August has been characterised by notably higher prices, having risen by 32% to 248 euros per night, practically identical occupancy to the previous year and higher profitability, with the particularity that bookings have been made less in advance.

The inland offer also remains popular. Felix Zea - the co-founder of the leading portal in Spain in this segment, Ruralidays - predicts a good September, with an average occupancy rate potentially 10% higher than last year, reaching 70%. "At the moment, we have 65% of sales closed and we hope to reach 70%. This is very good news. In addition, the average stay is seven nights." Zea highlights the pull of German tourists, who have grown by 16% compared to last year. August has also closed two points above 2024, reaching 90% occupancy. "It's been a good summer with figures similar to last year's in July and August and with a significantly improved September," he said.

It seems like all experts in the sector are confident of "improving on last year's figures by keeping prices at similar levels". Moreover, the profile of the September visitor is different in that most of them are no longer holidaymakers who travel with their families but older customers, who are not bound by the start of the academic year and who tend to have a greater spending capacity.

A different kind of visitor

September's main visitors are older tourists with greater spending power and professionals who book their stays for September conferences on the Costa del Sol. That is why the head of Aehcos in Malaga city - Francisco Moro - predicts that September will get off to a stronger start. "The summer has been strange. Both July and August started off weak, but have been finishing well. We are currently in line with last year's bookings and occupancy. We are already noticing the arrival of event and conference attendees and visitors of an older age range who are looking for the peace and quiet of September. The forecasts are very good, even a little better than those of 2024, which was already a record. Fares are in line with last year's. The city is noticing that the level of clientele has risen."

CEO and founder of MS Hoteles Miguel Sánchez shares these good expectations for September. For him, August closed better than expected and the chain's establishments "received the same volume of Spanish visitors last month as last year, but with 6% fewer overnight stays". For this September, he anticipates that the chain will start with an average occupancy rate of 89%, with a strong pull of the British, German and French markets. "We hope to improve the results of 2024 and to do so with around 5% higher rates. Occupancy is currently between 6 and 7% higher than last year."

Director of Grupo Peñarroya and head of the largest all-inclusive hotel complex on the Costa del Sol (Holiday World) Mari Francis Peñarroya also confirms that, "for September, things are looking a little better than last year". For her, August also closed better than in 2024, with an increase in both prices and profitability. According to Francis Peñarroya, "occupancy in the summer months has remained in line with previous years, with variations of only a few tenths of a percentage point from one year to the next". "In short, the year has been somewhat better than last year, with moderate growth. However, we have not reached the optimistic expectations we had and demand has not been as strong as in recent years," she stated.