It was like a midsummer night’s dream. Rural accommodations in the state of Alicante had their heyday to coincide with the pandemic, when tourists seeking protection and more tranquility came to fill businesses during summer campaigns. But after the health crisis was over, the industry rediscovered its bitter reality. An occupation barely exceeding 50% on average this month of August. Therefore, businessmen demand from Generalitat to implement a plan combining promotion, support and investment measures.
While the rural tourism sector in Alicante province has always had its busiest times coinciding with Christmas dates, Easter Week and festive bridges, activity was half-run during the summer months due to strong competition from the coast. Well, with the outbreak of the pandemic, the situation has changed radically, there were many who chose to look for quieter places that were less crowded.sees rural accommodation as an ideal option. This caused the industry’s activity to increase exponentially for two summers in a row until it was almost full.
But the occupation has already begun to take its toll last year as restrictions ended, and it died out this summer, when only half of the roughly 4,500 places were filled. creates losses of more than four million euros.
This is expressed at Font Roja de Alcoy by Indira Amaya, head of the Alicante Domestic Tourism association, manager of the Masía La Mota hotel, noting that overall stays are 40% during the week. increases of up to 70% on weekends. “The truth is,” she says, “that the occupation we had during the pandemic was a stolen occupationand now we see people returning to the beach and we are back to our normal self.
And that’s where he emphasizes the challenge, and above all, in his goal of increasing efficiency at this time of year. build customer loyalty. “We have a lot of businesses, activities, products and services that will accommodate and attract tourists, but we fail to fill them completely, as on shores, and that saturates us.”
Meeting
These problems have been fully analyzed in a recent meeting with the new Minister of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, Nuria Montes, by representatives of this association, that a more interior-oriented tourism policy should be promoted and that gives special attention to promotion. Indira Amaya said, “Making visible the product produced in this field is an absolute priority. We have to value what we have here with a diverse and quality offering, but it’s absolutely essential that we’re recognized for that.”
And not only that. The sector also demands policies to facilitate activities and investments that enable environmentally friendly tourism development.by involving young people, supporting the conservation of natural areas and contributing to the fight against depopulation. “I insist that the region has tremendous potential to become a great tourist destination, but we need support through a specific plan,” says the industry representative.
And in this sense, the sensitivity of the minister comes to the fore. “As it is a complex issue that needs to be addressed in the medium and long term, he invited us to a meeting with associations and organizations related to tourism.”
In the meantime, what do business owners think? Antonio Serrano of the Cases Noves hotel in Castell de Guadalest confirms: having a disappointing summer. In his own words, “We’re doing pretty well in August, but this time we’re barely reaching 60% occupancy, and we’re coming from a very disappointing June and July. Imagine we’re on August 15 and we have two empty rooms, which is totally unusual”.
He points out that the same is true of restaurants in the area. Record well below normal activity for an inland destination as strong as Vall de Guadalest. This is because, Serrano highlights, strong competition from the coast. “People – they say – this year we get the feeling that they’re going from those who are totally dependent on the beach and in restoration, to hotels that offer full board. The truth is, it’s going to be a pretty disastrous summer campaign for us,” he says.
Jorge Terol, manager of Casa El Pinar, located on the outskirts of Alcoy, puts himself in similar terms that offer a different proposition with apartments and a relaxation area for dining and games. «August -he says- is quite poor in mountainous regions.. People either stay at home or go to the beaches en masse, and this is reflected in our occupancy figures of only 30%.
So, after a late spring when the event was quite notable, “with the advent of the summer campaign it signals that we are stopping the dead. Customers are looking for a wider entertainment offerthe sea, discos and it is very difficult for us to compete ».
Added to the problem of occupation is the lack of manpower, which has already become endemic to the tourism sector in general. This is noted by Indira Maya, who points out that there are some organizations that have had to stop filling rooms from time to time because they don’t have enough staff.