Costa Tropical increases hotel occupancy

WHILE the average hotel occupancy on Costa Tropical has decreased over the past two years, some towns have registered an increase.

In general, this summer’s figures closed at 75 per cent compared to last year’s 80 per cent and 2009’s 85 per cent.

Despite this drop, the results for July and August 2011 were described as “not so bad” by Rafael Lamelas, secretary for a group of business associations.

Spanish tourists made up 90 per cent and mostly visited on weekends bringing the average weekday occupancy rate of between 55 and 70 per cent up to between 80 and 90 per cent on the weekends. Breaking the downward trend were Almuñecar, La Herradura and Motril. In Almuñecar, hotel occupancy was eight per cent more than summer 2010.

Occupancy rates in August for Almuñecar and La Herradura were between 78 and 82 per cent, while July closed at 70 per cent. “We believe that September’s occupation will exceed 80 per cent,” said Hotel Association president Jose Andres Fernandez.

Motril’s 72 per cent hotel occupancy in July was a six per cent increase over the same month last year, while August saw a two per cent rise to 85 per cent occupancy. The biggest increase was June’s 66 per cent occupation, representing an 11 per cent rise.

“This is an excellent boost to hotel occupancy,” said deputy mayor Jose Garcia Fuentes. September’s forecast is expected to be “around 65 per cent”, representing a 20 per cent increase compared to 2010.

Meanwhile in Salobreña, figures for July and August were similar to last year (75 per cent for July and 90 per cent for August), the forecast for September is more positive and higher occupancy levels are expected.

Photo credit: Dirk Hartung
By Nicole Hallett