A tourist leaves Malaga's train station. ITO SALAS

The Spanish, in their droves, break summer holiday records on the Costa del Sol

National tourists booked record numbers of overnight hotel stays in Malaga province during the months of June, July and August

Thursday, 23 September 2021, 23:31

Spanish residents have turned to the Costa del Sol in huge numbers for their holidays this summer.

National tourism has driven Malaga to be the leading province in Spain in terms of bookings for Spanish residents in hotels during the months of June, July and August. They accounted for 3,192,740 overnight stays of the almost 5.2 million stays with which the hotels on the coast have closed the high-season period.

Data from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) shows the area was the preferred destination for national tourism this summer, ranking above Alicante, Cádiz and the Balearic Islands.

The level of national tourism has been a record, according to INE statistics, which have been compiled every year since 1999,

Even so, accommodation providers in the province have seen their business reduced by 30 per cent compared to the corresponding three months, pre-pandemic, in August 2019.

A total of 5,159,052 overnight stays were recorded, including international travellers, compared to the 7.4 million, before Covid-19 plunged the sector into its worst crisis.

Recovery

Even so, August shows a greater pace in the recovery of tourism, closing with a hotel occupancy rate of 74.6 per cent, compared to the 81.6 per cent recorded before the health crisis.

Costa del Sol Tourism points out that in August the establishments received a total of 403,705 national travellers and 218,137 foreigners, which generated 2,366,398 million stays, of which 1.3 million nights reserved were by residents of Spain. The data differs notably compared to August 2019, in which the number of stays by foreign travellers was 1.6 million and far exceeded one million of those made by Spaniards.

An unbeatable offer

Compared to last summer, the indicators analysed also indicate an increase in the length of the average hotel stay and an increase in the number of staff employed in hotels, with more than 5,995 jobs. In addition, the average income per room has risen in Malaga province by 139 per cent compared to August 2019.

The president of Costa del Sol Tourism, Francisco Salado, said, "We have incomparable tourist resources, an unbeatable offer and magnificent professionals. We are going to continue working hard for this sector that generates so much wealth and employment for the province," he said.

"It is true that all these indicators continue to represent a decrease compared to the 2019 figures, but the data tells us that we are getting closer to recovery.”