Gloomy Costa del Sol and Malaga province hotel occupancy forecast for October and November

Although the summer has gone very well, including September, with better data than last year, hoteliers on the Costa del Sol are pessimistic about the outlook for the sector in the final stretch of the year. The Association of Hoteliers of the Costa del Sol (Aehcos) is concerned about the forecasts for the coming months and the cooling of demand in the national market. They say that September closed with a hotel occupancy rate of 86.7% and with a high presence of international tourists, which they put at 70%.

"The figures are very similar to those achieved in 2022. What does worry us is the reduction in domestic demand, which has experienced a decline due to inflation and the rise in interest rates," said José Luque, president of the employers' association.

Luque added that among the list of uncertainties was that of "the profitability of hotel accommodation, which may be reduced during the winter season". He said that the forecasts for October point to an occupancy rate of 78.6%, which is a full three percentage points less than that recorded last year in the same period. In addition, bookings for November are slow and expectations are for 55.6% of rooms to be filled, i.e. a decrease of 9% compared to 2022.

"So far the figures have been maintained despite the latent economic concerns in society. That is why our commitment for the coming months is to continue to focus on the usual international and national tourism, but also to explore other niche markets such as Latin America, India, Japan or South Korea," Luque said.

For the month of September, Benalmádena was the leading municipality with the highest occupancy rate, with 93.6%, followed by Malaga city, with 87.2%, Mijas, with 85.7%, and Ronda, with 85.5%. The scenario will be different in October, except that Benalmádena will remain in first position with 91% of places booked, followed by Mijas, Malaga and Marbella.

The hoteliers also pointed out that the average Gross Business Impact per Customer Accommodated (IBCA) reached 156.44 euros up to September, with an increase of more than ten euros per customer compared to the data for 2022.