Growth is estimated to be close to 5 per 100
The CEHAT takes stock of the results of the summer season
The growth of sun and beach destinations seems to reflect a slowdown in the fall, although some destinations, such as inland tourism, have seen their occupancy rates significantly reduced.
Juan Molas, president of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT), has appeared before the media to take stock of the results obtained by the sector during the summer season and offer data on the prospects of hoteliers for the coming months.
With regard strictly to the occupancy of hotel beds, some improvement has been perceived, with records that touch 75 per 100 on the coasts, thanks to the upward behavior of strategic sun and beach destinations. Likewise, there has been an increase in the occupation of the main cities, especially Barcelona, Madrid and San Sebastian, while inland tourism has suffered a notable decrease, with figures that do not reach 40 per 100 of the occupation. In this sense, Juan Molas has shown his "concern for this sector, which had grown in recent years and had become an important complement to the GDP of these areas".
By autonomous communities, good results have been recorded in the Basque Country, Asturias, Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and especially Galicia, on the occasion of the Holy Year. "We have opted for Galicia in its Xacobeo, holding our national congress there last May, and we trust that the administrations will take advantage of the opportunity, contrary to what happened in Zaragoza in 2008, where they did not want to hear us about the need to promote the city, which has meant the closure of fantastic hotels in this city", says Juan Molas.
In addition, part of the increase recorded is largely due to the reduction in hotel prices, so that profit margins in operating accounts have not increased significantly, also due to the increase in costs. "It is barbaric that energy costs are increasing up to 5 per 100, to which we must add the increases in transport costs, food, wage costs and, of course, the increase in VAT, which the employer has assumed," lamented Juan Molas.
As for future forecasts, Spanish hotel entrepreneurs seem to have lost some confidence in an upcoming recovery. 78 per 100 of the hoteliers consulted by CEHAT believe that profitability will fall in the coming months. In 2009 it was 60 per 100 the percentage of hoteliers who expressed themselves in this same sense.
News added on 30-09-2010
