Tourism grows in Spain despite rising hotel prices

Tourism, one of the engines of the Spanish economy, continued on a growth path in July, with an increase in hotel overnight stays of 1.8% year-on-year despite the rise in prices, which registered an increase of 4.6%.

The data published this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) reflect that the evolution of non-resident travelers has rebounded to 1% during July, while among residents, hotel stays rose by 2.1%.

Hotel prices have grown by 4.6% during this past month and maintain the upward trend that began in the spring of 2021, after the pandemic halt.

Marbella, the most expensive place

The average billing of hotels per occupied room (ADR in English) was 146.5 euros in July, that’s 4.6% more, reaching 331.5 euros for five-star establishments.

Marbella, the tourist town on the Costa del Sol (south), led in July the ADR, which reached 375.1 euros.

The average stay in Spanish hotels was 3.43 nights. Of the total overnight stays, 24.4%, practically one in four, occurred in Andalusia (south), mostly by national tourists.

However, non-residents preferred the Balearic Islands (Mediterranean).

Among foreign visitors, the United Kingdom leads the ranking: one in four overnight stays (26.1%) was made by a British person.