The Spanish tourism industry is preparing for an unprecedented summer season. yes ok Global recovery is not expected From the figures recorded before the pandemic until 2024 or 2025, the Mediterranean countries of southern Europe stand out. According to data from the UN’s industry-dedicated agency, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), they have already exceeded 1% in 2019. This is how travelers come across without much reluctance. A summer that promises to be the most expensive in history.
The level of activity has already surprised professionals in the industry at Easter. Spain received 7.2 million tourists in April, 18.5% more than in 2022. The average price per hotel room exceeded 100 euros. International visitors spent 8,480 million, 22.7% more than 2022 and 20.1% more than 2019.
Inflation, war, wages
All forecasts indicate that this growth will be reproduced during the strongest months of the summer season. It will do so despite an economy still affected by the pandemic and world inflation that continues to make everything more expensive, including flights, accommodation and tourism services. In addition, despite Europe continuing to witness a war in the heartland and Spanish salaries suffering the biggest loss of purchasing power since 1985 in 2022, no one seems to be able to resist experiencing a dream vacation.
How, then, is it possible for the journey to begin so intensely? There’s no clear answer, but experts agree it’s part of the rebound effect of the health crisis: Months of closure, savings, and fantasies about that escape can now finally come true. A full-fledged confirmation of tempus fugit, which led to a collective and unstoppable desire to go out and explore.
UNWTO recommends that countries collaborate with the private sector to submit offers and diversify travel destinations.
“Traveling is an integral part of being human,” she says. Alexandra Priante, UNWTO’s European Director. “There are more people who haven’t traveled before and feel that way now. So prices went up but demand didn’t shrink. The planes are expensive but they’re full.” And while that motivation “will not subside, experts predict the industry will stabilize in 2024,” or at least prices will stall.
“Prices must be brought under control so that coming to Spain remains appetizing,” he says. pablo diazProfessor of Economics and Business at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), specializing in tourism. “Spain’s competitiveness as a destination should not be based on prices, but that is still a decisive factor,” he says.
It should also be noted that this travel fever broke out in 2022, the first year without restrictions, and has dragged on ever since. For this reason, he warns, “many families have already exhausted all or nearly all of their savings for travel.” Diazi.e. “we’ll have to see how the market finally behaves”. Because in addition to that, the trend of booking last minute and for fewer nights than before continues.
The customer responds
“Demand matches the price we’re asking, at least for the moment. We realized that the increase was excessive as we hit the brakes in some hotels and people didn’t come. But for now, demand corresponds to the price you ask it, “, assures Raul GonzalezCEO of Barceló, who acknowledges a price increase of 6% to 7% compared to 2022.
“The question to ask is whether this level of tourism is sustainable,” he warns. Priante. From an environmental point of view, but also from a financial and social point of view. “Hotels, trains, planes lost money. And they want to get it back. But they can’t do that at any cost. Pre-pandemic problems with serious environmental and social impacts are irreversible.”
Flights have become 36% more expensive compared to 2022, when post-Covid prices have already increased.
Path? “Intelligent, coordinated and shared management of tourist flows“It doesn’t have to go through the number of arrivals restrictions. Restricting the transit of tourists in the EU would be problematic due to the free movement implemented.” But “it is possible to analyze how many people come to each country and offer them alternatives”.
The expert uses Venice as an example to explain this. The city has a “structural problem”: it cannot accommodate many people “because the surface is collapsing”. But Venice is “not just the city, it’s its surroundings”. If not everyone is able to visit, an alternative should be offered to those left out. Also, it’s cheaper. It’s like visiting the Prosecco hills, half an hour’s drive away. “Governments should ask themselves: How many tourists can I sustainably host each day? Without creating congestion or bad experiences.” And from there, tailor your offer with marketing campaigns that help diversify destinations. “Policy should be realistic, pragmatic and based on real numbers. It needs to work with the private sector and neighboring countries. If there is too much demand, the supply needs to be adjusted. You have to plan and schedule, but not just for this summer. If tourism is not considered 360 degrees, the same thing will happen next summer.”
According to the ski flight search engine, at the beginning of the year, flight ticket prices became 36% more expensive and accommodation costs 7% more expensive compared to 2022. Diaz He thinks that the increase is due to fuel and energy prices. However Priante this is more critical. “Transportation providers take advantage to raise prices. And this is not sustainable. These prices are out of place,” he criticizes. He also states that there is a tendency to concentrate in the airline sector, which further jeopardizes price stability. “You have to find a solution to bring them down.” Especially the short haul ones that are getting more expensive. “It’s getting crazy,” he concludes.
More spend, less profit
According to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the average expenditure per tourist rises by 3.6% annually to 1,172 euros, and by an average of 11.6% per day to 173 euros. According to UNWTO, international tourism revenue was one trillion dollars in 2022, 50% more than in 2021. And Europe is at the top of these revenues with 504,000 million collected.
It is necessary to take into account that the Chinese population will “travel again”, he continues. Priante. And some of the lack of Russian tourism due to the war in Ukraine is being met by the arrival of the Americans. In addition, “some markets that threaten to become major competitors of the Spaniards, such as Turkey and Tunisia, have shrunk”, concludes Diaz.
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According to Braintrust consultancy, Spain will receive 85 million visitors in 2023, two million more than in 2019. But while the summer will likely end with record revenues, this year’s 2019 profitability levels, according to Exceltur. businesses have to amortize the improvements they have made during and after the pandemic, because the level of expense is much higher than it was then.
There is one last issue that worries UNWTO: the difficulty of finding workers, especially among the young population. Experts say, “Their mentality has changed. Working seasonally is a sacrifice. In the past, this was an opportunity to gain experience, but now they don’t see it that way.” And the key to winning them back is not just to offer them a more dignified salary, but to offer them “stable job prospects.” Because “No one would want to work in that sector if they knew that it might collapse tomorrow.“.