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ANDALUSIA HOTEL OCCUPANCY CONTINUES TO GROW

Luciano Alonso

“I am extremely optimistic for the summer in Andalusia,” said the Minister of Tourism, Trade and Sport, Luciano Alonso, last week, when he announced the estimates of hotel occupancy in the Autonomous Region for the months of July, August and September.

He said that research shows an anticipated increase in overnight stays of between 2.5 and three percent , which represents about 400,000 more – tourists coming into the area, between 395,000 and 474,000, when compared with the summer of 2010, when there were 15.8 million travelers.

This increase means an improvement in 2010 results and confirms the recovery of the market after the previous decline of tourists, mainly from the major emitting countries – Britain and Germany – due, of course to the ongoing economic crisis.

Most of the boost is expected to occur in July, rather than August and September, when the improvement is expected to be “significant”. This is supported by forecasts made of an increased number of flights into Andalusia’s Airports by many operators as well as the airport authority AENA. In all it represents an increase of 1.8 percent over the previous year.

Alonso alluded to the importance of optimism: “being optimistic can lead to further improvements on what we already are, leaders in tourism.” “It can have a positive effect and I hope that it will stay with us this summer.”

The head of Andalusian Tourism said that the Ministry has conducted a survey among 700 hoteliers in the region during the early part of the summer. Of these, 65 percent believe that the occupancy will be equal to or better than last summer.”

A widespread view among businesses in Andalusia is that there will be an improvement in the UK market, which provides the largest influx of visitors to Andalusia.

“The market is definitely recovering,” said the Minister, who added that foreign arrivals to Andalusia have grown from January to May 2011 by 5.4 percent. Of that increase the British market has increased by 4.4 percent, Germany’s 1.5 percent and France 6.3 percent.

Published

13 years ago

Jul 1, 2011

Costa del Sol News

Luciano Alonso

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Most of the boost is expected to occur in July, rather than August and September, when the improvement is expected to be “significant". This is supported by forecasts made of an increased number of flights into Andalusia’s Airports by many operators as well as the airport authority AENA. In all it represents an increase of 1.8 percent over the previous year.

Alonso alluded to the importance of optimism: "being optimistic can lead to further improvements on what we already are, leaders in tourism." "It can have a positive effect and I hope that it will stay with us this summer."

A widespread view among businesses in Andalusia is that there will be an improvement in the UK market, which provides the largest influx of visitors to Andalusia.

"The market is definitely recovering," said the Minister, who added that foreign arrivals to Andalusia have grown from January to May 2011 by 5.4 percent. Of that increase the British market has increased by 4.4 percent, Germany’s 1.5 percent and France 6.3 percent.