Rural accommodation in the province of Alicante promised happiness to them the previous two summers, still close to filling up with the pandemic, thanks to a client who escaped the crowds and sought the tranquility of the interior landscapes. But the end of restrictions has brought the industry back to harsh reality as tourists massively favor the shores and squandered 60% of the occupation this August. Staff shortages also contributed to the decline in activity, as some workplaces stopped filling more rooms due to difficulties in recruiting. With all this, billing will be reduced by around 3 million euros.
While the rural tourism sector in Alicante province has always had its peak seasons during Christmas, Easter and public holidays, businesses were cut in half during the summer months. However, the situation has changed radically with the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, while customers have chosen to seek quiet spaces away from the crowds and in safe areas to spend their holidays. This situation has caused the activities of the enterprises in the inner regions to increase exponentially in the last two summers, reaching full capacity.
But the end of restrictions has also served to confront the industry with the harsh reality that tourists have decided to bet heavily on the coast this summer, resulting in a decline in occupation to levels similar to before health. crisis. This is emphasized by Indira Amaya, president of the Alicante Domestic Tourism association, manager of Hotel Masía la Mota in Font Roja, stressing that the occupation on weekdays is top secret and is only revived on weekends. “People – he states – decided to return to the beaches this year and forgot about us even though our offer was very attractive both in terms of facilities and natural environments, activities and gastronomy.”
Another influential factor is the lack of personnel. In his own words, “We are experiencing serious difficulties in finding labor. There were a lot of people who chose to work in other industries when the quarantines came and they didn’t come back, so we found that we couldn’t fill any more rooms because we didn’t have enough people.
At Hotel La Escondida in Penàguila, they are also aware of the difficulties, but as in their case it is a small hotel with only 13 rooms, they are able to meet all the requests they receive.
At Hotel Cases Noves in Castell de Guadalest, reservations seem to come in at the last minute, but they can still maintain a good occupation, where both the city and the region’s attractions are located. environment contributes.
Meanwhile, Hotel Bons Aires, also in Font Roja Nature Park, acknowledges a notable drop in activity this season. Owner Nely Demeersman said: “We stayed at 40% occupancy in July and moved around 65% in August, low percentages when we take into account that we were at 70% and 80% respectively in recent summers. ”.
Source: Informacion
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