Costa del Sol confirms hotel occupancy rate of 78.7 per cent in 2025 and calls for key investment in infrastructure

A report on the health of the hotel sector on the Costa del Sol has confirmed its stability with an average occupancy rate in 2025 of 78.72%. The report was drawn up by the Costa's hotel business association Aehcos and announced this week at the Fitur international tourism fair in Madrid. The figure shows a slight improvement compared to 2024 (78.14%) and an increase of 3.1 percentage points compared to 2019, confirming a positive trend that remains above pre-pandemic levels.

Aehcos's annual analysis shows that June (with 88.14% occupancy), July (89.82%), August (92.15%) and September (90.97%) are the main drivers of tourism. All have seen growth compared to 2024 and 2019, which confirms the dominance of the holiday sector and the destination's capacity to attract tourists in high summer. The main positive observation, however, is that May (86.06%) and October (88.21%) registered notable increases in 2025, endorsing the strategy of diversification and deseasonalisation deployed in recent years.

"The fact that we are generally above pre-2020 levels confirms that the hotel sector has strengthened its competitiveness and its ability to adapt to an increasingly demanding tourism context," president of Aehcos José Luque said. According to him, 2025 marked a phase of "normalisation" characterised by stability, predictability and the possibility of working with a more strategic vision in the mid-term.

At the same time, however, Luque said that tourism "continues to be very sensitive" to the international political context, which calls for cautious forecasts.

On a more negative note, the Aehcos study highlights the main factors of concern for the sector: insufficient investment in essential infrastructure in the province of Malaga. The association warns that accumulated delays in projects related to access, transport, water management, beaches and tourist facilities are compromising the competitiveness of the destination in an increasingly demanding world.

Aehcos calls for urgent measures in projects such as the northern access to Malaga Airport, awarded in 2018, but later modified and currently still pending execution. Once finished, it will improve the flow of incoming and outgoing traffic at one of the busiest airports in Spain.

The association also demands advances in the projects concerning the expansion of the MA-20, the creation of continuous third lanes on the A-7 between Malaga, Marbella and the Axarquía district, the reorganisation of access at various points along the coast and the implementation of the coastal train.

In addition, the report focuses on the shortage of affordable housing, with a direct impact on the ability of hotels to attract and retain workers, which then affects the operation of the establishments and the quality of service.

Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport has also become a focal point of concern for the hotel sector. The implementation of the European entry/exit system (EES), along with the impact that Etias is expected to have from 2026, is creating uncertainty due to its potential effect on key markets such as the UK, the US, Canada and Latin America.

The study points out that 27% of tourists staying in the province come from the UK. If we add tourists from the US, Canada and Latin America, the figure rises to 35%. In high season, Malaga Airport exceeds peaks of 3,000 to 6,000 British passengers per hour, which requires careful and flexible planning of staff at entry controls to avoid long waits that can tarnish the experience for the visitor.

Another study, prepared by Cehat (the Spanish hotels confederation) and Grupo Cajamar specifically for Fitur, provides a complementary vision of the sector's performance on a national scale. The document confirms that Spanish hotels have managed to reduce their emissions by more than 7% since 2022 and by approximately 40% since 2012, while growing in activity, employment and profitability.

The study also reveals sustained improvements in energy efficiency and water management, a reduction in seasonality and hotel employment growth of over 3% in the long term. From an economic point of view, occupancy and revenue levels are on a robust trend, with prices below the general CPI, which contributes to strengthening Spain's tourism competitiveness.

In parallel to the presentation of the study, Cajamar announced the renewal of its collaboration agreement with CEHAT, which includes specialised financing, digital solutions and support tools for sustainability and hotel modernisation projects. With this commitment, Cajamar maintains its role as a strategic partner for Spanish tourist accommodation.

Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar has also formalised a new agreement with Aehcos, which involves a specific financial service available to associated establishments, designed to boost their competitiveness and investment capacity. The agreement was signed by Jaume Julià, José Luque and executive deputy president of Aehcos Javier Hernández.