Malaga Province Closes August With Estimated 88 Per Cent Hotel Occupancy And An Increase In Tourist Expenditure

THE province of Malaga finished the month of August with an estimated hotel occupancy of 88.4 per cent.

As reported this Monday, August 28 by Aehcos, the Association of Hotel Entrepreneurs of the Costa del Sol, these figures were in line with the 88.08 per cent registered in August 2022.

Aehcos also estimated that the month of September will have an occupancy rate of 84.52 per cent and that of October will be 76.27 per cent.

José Luque, the association’s president, commented: ‘Despite the fact that the month of July closed with figures below 2022 and in the month of August with figures below 2019, we are satisfied with the gross impact per hosted customer that has allowed tourists who have visited us to have spent more’.

Visitors spent an average of around €10 per person more than in 2022

Data reveal that the IBCA (average Gross Income per Hosted Client) reached €143.51, which is an average increase of almost €10 per client, a figure that represents 6.6 per cent more than last year:

‘We have noticed a decrease in national demand since the average stay in hotels has been reduced. This is due to inflation, the rise in interest rates, and other reasons that have caused the loss of purchasing power of families and national demand’, explained Luque.

In September, the percentage is estimated to be the same as that registered in August. International tourism is predicted to cover approximately 60 per cent, with national tourists occupying the remaining 40 per cent. The percentage of international visitors is expected to rise to 65 per cent in October.

Torremolinos received the most occupancy

During the month of August, several municipalities exceeded 90 per cent occupancy. These included Torremolinos at 94.95 per cent, Fuengirola at 94.18 per cent, Estepona at 91.84 per cent, and Mijas at 91.84 per cent.

Looking ahead to September, for the moment, the municipality with the greatest demand is Torremolinos, with 92.59 per cent. In October the location most in demand is the city of Málaga with 80.44 per cent.

‘These latest data are still indicative given that we will have to see how the demand evolves in the current availability of air seats, among other references, and the autumn slope in the behaviour of tourists’, the Executive Committee concluded.

Aehcos insisted on: ‘the need not only to strengthen and increase promotion in the national market but also to look for new niches of demand. These include alternative markets to the traditional ones, that have great potential, such as Latam, India, Japan, South Korea, and other European countries where demand is currently very marginal’.