Despite the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, this year’s Fallas provided a respite for Valencia hotels, which are reporting high occupancy rates, reminiscent of the “good old days.” The Valencia Hospitality Business Federation, on the other hand, paints a different picture.
The occupancy rates in Valencia hotels and the Comunidad, are resisting the effects of the war caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and remain at “reasonably good” levels, according to the sector.
There is also a visible increase in the international market: in the province of Alicante, foreign tourists account for 50% of the total, in Valencia, this percentage is close to 40%, and in Castellón, which is traditionally unpopular with foreign tourists, it exceeds 26%.
These international tourism figures have not been seen since 2019 and are an important indicator that the tourism industry is recovering. Even in traditionally “British” Benidorm, there are signs of a strong recovery, as it appears that British tourists are returning, accounting for 40% of total tourists staying there at the moment.
This year’s Fallas also reminded us of the good old days for Valencia hotels, with the capital city’s occupancy rate hovering around 80%. Even Benidorm, with an occupancy rate of around 72 percent, indicates that this year’s season may be as good as the one in 2019.
On the negative side, the sector is suffering from the effects of the transport strike, and many Valencia hotels and hotels in the Comunidad, as well as tourist companies, are facing a completely new problem – necessary materials are not being delivered, and renovations and building work are difficult to complete, potentially affecting reservations already made for the coming summer.
As a result, the president of the hotel association, Hosbec, has asked the government to put in place measures to alleviate transportation issues and disproportionate increases in fuel prices. There are still a number of Valencia hotels under construction, and without this capacity, a promising trend of increasing the number of visitors to La Comunidad could be severely hampered.
While Hosbac is upbeat about the occupancy in Valencia hotels, different tones can be heard from another association, Valencia Hospitality Business Federation (Hostelería Valencia). The association has complained that the bad weather has been a main culprit for not so ideal results during the Fallas 2022.
Hosteleria Valencia has based their findings on the survey, done throughout Valencia, within the hospitality industry.
Compared to the Fallas 2019, for 64% of those surveyed the results are worse, while 35% confirm that they had better results, and 19.3% much better results.
“Undoubtedly, the weather has had a negative influence on the operation of the hotel business. The rains have reduced the possibility of activity in the sector, especially in the operation of the terraces,” the association said in a statement.
Therefore, compared to the Fallas 2019, Hosteleria Valencia pointed out that spending in Valencia hotels remained stagnant which implies a drop in profitability, especially in the face of rising costs of energy and raw materials.
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