Marbella breaks its all-time record for tourism employment in February
Hotels in this Costa del Sol town employed 2,990 staff last month, more than 200 above the 2025 figure, and registered nearly 32,000 visitors, with their average stay extending to 2.87 nights
Marbella broke its all-time record for tourism employment in February, with 2,990 people employed in the town's hotels, compared to 2,781 for the same period last year. The figures represent a 7.5 per cent increase, according to hotel occupancy survey data from Spain's national statistics institute (INE). This data also showed an average price per hotel room of over 136 euros, reflecting a 6.1 per cent increase compared to February 2025.
Still on increases, the average length of stay per visitor reached 2.87 days, representing an 11.7 per cent increase compared to the previous year, when it stood at 2.57 days. In terms of profitability, revenue per available room (the RevPar rate) stood at around 70 euros, compared to 71.17 euros recorded in February 2025. Meanwhile, the average hotel occupancy rate was 51.4 per cent, with a total of 31,909 guests and 91,631 overnight stays recorded, below the figures logged in the same period last year.
The director-general for tourism at Marbella town hall, Laura de Arce, explained that these figures have been affected by various external factors, including particularly adverse weather conditions (the high number of rainy days during February), the international geopolitical situation and difficulties with rail connectivity. "These factors have undoubtedly influenced the data reported by the INE, so it's important to highlight the surprisingly positive indicators in an atypical February when a general decline across all aspects was expected", she noted.
