Tourism in Spain´s Benidorm is suffering from the effects of the UK recession and a flat domestic Spanish market
The Hotel And Tourism Business Association Of The Valencian Community, HOSBEC, has warned that “The war in Ukraine, inflation, the energy crisis, and the problems in the United Kingdom are affecting the recovery, especially in the low season, which takes place during the months of December and January.”
HOSBEC also said it regrets that “not even the macro-bridge of the Constitution and the Immaculate has served to cushion” the tourist slowdown.
The state of the tourism sector in Benidorm is especially worrying as it is one destination of the Valencian Community that has suffered the most since 2019.
“All the forecasts of the sector are being fulfilled regarding the difficulties that were expected for the winter, waiting to confirm the latest hotel occupancy forecasts for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, hoping that the last hour works as in previous years”, added a spokesperson for the association.
Looking deeper into the economic behavior of Benidorm, in the first half of December it reported an average hotel occupancy of 60.7%. This is more than six points compared to the same period in 2019 when it reached 67.1%.
The Spanish market once again leads the figures with 58.1% of overnight stays. Of the total number of tourists staying in hotels in Benidorm during the first fortnight, 31.4% are British nationals, followed by Belgians (3.8%), Dutch (2.7%), and Irish (1% ).
Will Benidorm recover?
Hopefully, things will change and tourists will flood back into the once extremely popular destination for British tourists and Europeans alike. Could the new year see an end to the war in Russia or will it carry on until someone surrenders?
The UK recession is hardly likely to see signs of recovery soon. Electricity prices in Spain remain at an all-time high and the Spanish government may well soon cancel the fuel discount. Only time will tell.
Please check back on this article for a January 2023 update.
