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Pilar Martínez
Malaga
Monday, 7 October 2024, 12:39
Hotel prices are not exepected to continue to soar in Spain in 2025 after what's been two years of steady increases.
The revelation came at an association of hoteliers of the Costa del Sol (Aehcos) conference, where experts predicted prices will begin to peak next year after the unprecedented rises of the past two years.
However, the two main markets for the Costa del Sol, Spain and the UK, will continue their downward trend. This is was pointed out by David César Heymann, from CaixaBank; Nicolas Cousin, general manager in Spain and Portugal at Christie & CO; and Beñat Knörr, from Enovam; as well as Rocío Galán, director of operations in Malaga at Meliá Hotels International; and Juan Carlos López Vella, general manager of Soho Boutique Hotels, during their presentations.
At the opening of the tenth forum of the hotel employers' association, its president, José Luque, pointed out the need to prioritise the recovery of Spanish and British tourism. He blamed the downward trend on the controversial new decree on the registration of tourists whose entry into force has again been postponed until 2 December, and which he warned conflicts with the data protection act and causes people to feel reluctant to provide certain personal data, causing them to spend their holidays in other destinations.
These experts pointed to a 2025 with a new increase in tourists that will raise hotel occupancies by between 2.5% and 4%. Meanwhile, hotel prices are expected to stabilise after the sharp rises of the past two years.
This summer, prices reached an average of 182 euros per night, which the president of Turismo Costa del Sol, Francisco Salado, said was a concern and a factor that could contribute to a lower percentage of Spaniards visiting the province.
Experts pointed out the hurdle in recovering the British and Spanish markets are families impacted by the cost of living crisis, as well as the impact of Brexit. This stabilisation of prices is also determined by energy costs which are expected to remain unchanged in 2025, experts also said.
During the conference, it was pointed out that neither the domestic market is expected to rise, unless there is a sudden financial improvement among Spanish families that allows them to go on holiday more, nor the British market, which has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Promotional campaigns should be directed towards these markets, they said.
A lack of hotel staff was also pointed out at the conference, which experts also linked to the shortage of affordable rental housing and predicted would continue to be a challenge, particularly as more hotels are expected to crop up. Specifically, real estate company Christie & CO announced the new projects expected will mainly be in Malaga, Marbella and Estepona.
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