For the first time since the pandemic started there are more international tourists in Spanish hotels than domestic guests.
More than half, 52.46%, of the tourists arriving in Spanish hotels in October are from abroad. This means that, for the first time since the pandemic, there are more international guests in the hotels than Spanish guests.
This is according to the World Hotel Index study by SiteMinder, booking platform for the tourism sector. And that means a substantial increase. In May, international guests accounted for only 29.1% of hotel stays in Spain. August already showed a nice growth, when the percentage was 39.34%. By the beginning of 2022, the forecast is the percentage will be as high as 72%.
Hotel reset
The report shows Spain may be entering the final phase of the ‘hotel reset’. This is a process described by SiteMinder in which a market goes through five stages of recovery before returning to ‘normal’.
Hotel bookings on SiteMinder were back to pre-pandemic levels by 29 June 2021. They remain near or even above the figures for the same dates in 2019.
All Spain benefits
The World Hotel Index stresses there is an even spread of tourism throughout Spain; it is not a concentration in certain geographical areas. The recovery is not limited to a handful of destinations. And although coastal destinations are showing the best figures, cities such as Madrid and Barcelona are also seeing progress. They are already back at 96.14% and 95.17% of 2019 levels, respectively.
Last minute
Consumers still choose to book just before departure. Both domestic and international travellers book shortly in advance; 65.84% of hotel bookings made in the past two weeks are for the month of October.
