Elche shines bright: Record-breaking Holy Week figures

Elche enjoyed a fantastic Holy Week in 2024, attracting a record number of tourists despite some challenging weather.

The Tourist Office saw a 46 per cent increase in visitors compared to last year, with over 7,000 people seeking information from Friday to Easter Monday.

Notably, there was a 74 per cent increase in national visitors and a 30 per cent increase in international visitors.

Palm Sunday alone saw almost 1,300 tourists, more than double compared to 2023.

Additionally, over 1,100 people enjoyed the tourist train, and nearly 6,000 visited the city’s museums.

Accommodation occupancy reached an impressive 93 per cent, with many hotels fully booked from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday.

Before Easter, VisitElche conducted promotional campaigns in various regions, generating significant online and offline media exposure.

The visitelche.com website saw high traffic, with 87,000 visits and 250,000 queries related to Holy Week events and activities in the city.

During Holy Week, Elche’s hotels collectively achieved a 93 per cent occupancy rate, with some reaching 100 per cent occupancy during peak times.

Despite some processions being suspended due to weather, Elche still welcomed over 300,000 visitors during Holy Week.

Highlights included the Palm Sunday procession, attended by over 70,000 people, and Holy Thursday, which drew another 70,000 to witness various processions, with 45,000 attending the Christ of Zalamea procession.

On Holy Monday, about 5,000 people attended, while 35,000 were out on both Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday to enjoy the processions.

Good Friday also saw 35,000 people participating in the traditional Trencà del Guió and observing processions by various brotherhoods.