Costa Tropical faces a difficult August

AUGUST is not going well for hoteliers on the Costa Tropical with figures falling 10 per cent from last year. Owners of holiday flats have had to lower their prices, while hotels have offered the best deals they can only to see that they are still only half full.

The average occupancy levels this month are 65 per cent, with figures only having improved last weekend when the main ‘fiestas’ were being held in locations such as Almuñecar and Motril, with levels rising to 85 per cent.

However, from this week until the end of the month, many rooms will remain empty, according to the Secretary of the Costa Tropical Hoteliers’ Association, Rafael Lamelas, who says that hotels have their hopes set on last minute bookings to boost trade a little.

The main reason for this 10 per cent fall from last year is that most tourists who visit the Costa Tropical are Spanish, who are travelling less due to the economic crisis.

Lamelas explained that while destinations which are popular with foreigners are seeing occupancy levels rise, those such as Almuñecar, Motril, Roquetas de Mar and Mojacar, which traditionally see more Spanish tourists, are experiencing the opposite. Fifty-eight per cent of tourists who choose the Costa Tropical come from within a radius of 300 kilometres, mainly Jaen, Granada, Cordoba, Malaga and Sevilla.

Hoteliers were hopeful that the growing trend which they had over the past two years would continue to keep occupancy levels above 80 per cent this year, but the provisional data for this month shows worse figures than those in 2009.