Hotel occupancy rates for August in Malaga and along the Costa del Sol revised upwards

Hotel occupancy rates in Malaga province during August are expected to increase by 2.5% compared with original forecasts, experts say.

The Association of Hoteliers of the Costa del Sol (Aehcos) has updated - and improved - its hotel occupancy forecasts for this month, so that they now expect it to reach 86.01%, a 2.5% rise compared to the figures forecast at the end of July, when it was estimated to be 83.42%.

But the figures are still below those recorded in 2022 (88.08%) and before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019; 89.73%.

"International tourism, which represents 60% of demand in August, is recovering to a high degree compared to the figures for 2022, while domestic tourism, which represents 40% of demand in August, has reduced in contrast to 2021 and 2022, when it was the big pull in demand," said the association's executive committee.

On the Costa del Sol, according to Aehcos data, Torremolinos leads the demand, with an occupancy rate of 91.21%, followed by Benalmádena (90.33%), Fuengirola (88.79%), Benahavís (88%) and Nerja (87.53%). In Malaga city, the occupancy rate is 82.07%, and 81.64% in Marbella.

Malaga city's summer fair has contributed significantly towards a boost in tourism and hotel occupancy, according to Aehcos data released on Wednesday 16 August. During the last long weekend between 11 and 15 August, occupancy in Malaga city stood at 90%, similar to last year's 90.3%. But the hoteliers' association predicted occupancy to fall to 84.15% during the second week of feria, which started this Thursday 17 August and finishes on 20 August.

Aehcos, with the available data, estimated that the fair will close with an occupancy rate of over 87%, 2% below 2022, but said the figures are positive. "The development of the fair is more than satisfactory. The last-minute demand is allowing the hotel sector to get closer to the levels of 2022, when the fair surpassed the pre-pandemic data," the organisation added.