Rural lodgings in Alicante province looked set for a bright period after the pandemic, when occupancy surged as travelers, already familiar with the coast, opted for the calm and safety of inland destinations. The challenge was to sustain that higher influx, but current data shows that the inland sector hasn’t managed to hold onto the elevated demand as coastal numbers recover. Occupancy for this Holy Week hovers around 60 percent, a level not far from the pre-pandemic norm. Industry players hope last-minute bookings might lift these figures, though reaching the dream levels remains unlikely.
The covid crisis hit tourism hard. Forced closures and strict rules from both national and regional governments aimed to curb contagion. Yet, within that harsh backdrop, rural accommodations weathered the storm better, benefiting from visitors who swapped crowded coastal towns for quieter inland settings that offered nature and space.
The activity was so intense that, during special periods like Holy Week, rural establishments reached occupancy rates never seen before. At one point, they hit as high as 90 percent and managed to sustain those levels not only in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic but also afterward when fears about the virus persisted.
That surge, however, is now part of history. Coastal tourism numbers have improved gradually, and the inland figures have begun to retreat. For this Holy Week, occupancy sits around 60 percent. Ramón Reche, the new president of the Alicante Interior Provincial Tourism Association, notes that a sizable portion of customers have returned to the beach, the familiar habitat where crowds gather. “There’s always a segment that avoids the most crowded areas and seeks peace, but it isn’t the same audience we saw after the pandemic,” he laments.
In reality, results vary by property. At Masía la Mota, a hotel in Font Roja near Alcoy, the owner Indira Amaya says there are only about 30 percent of rooms booked right now. When long weekends or holidays arrive, many travelers prefer beaches or farther destinations. By contrast, Alahuar hotel in Vall de Laguar reports occupancy around 60 percent now, and nearing 70 percent as the weekend approaches.
Civic shifts in demand for rural housing
Just as rural lodgings drew in visitors during the pandemic, demand for homes in small towns rose too. A recent study from the Idealista real estate portal shows a change in this trend. The peak occurred in spring 2021, when 5.5 percent of all investor inquiries in Alicante related to properties in towns with fewer than 5,000 residents. Three years later, that share has dropped to 4.8 percent, seven tenths lower.
The trend mirrors the national pattern across Spain, where inquiries moved from 5.8 percent in 2021 to 4.7 percent today. The most sparsely populated provinces felt the shift most acutely. In Cuenca, nearly half of all inquiries once concerned small towns (46.8%), now down to 29 percent. Teruel went from 48.8 percent to 35.9 percent, and Huesca from 48.5 percent to 35.6 percent.
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