A healthy August in Marbella

Today, the Councilor for Tourism, José Luis Hernández, held a meeting with the president of the Association of Hoteliers of the Costa del Sol (Aehcos), José Carlos Escribano to evaluate this summer’s season data and the incidence of the Assumption’s four day holiday on the summer’s data.

The councilman pointed out that "the repositioning of the Marbella brand is reflected in hotel occupancy figures during August that are somewhat higher than those recorded in previous years. These numbers will reach 95% over the four day weekend".

He stressed that "the incorporation of the Persian Gulf tourism, which accounts for 7% of tourists to Malaga for the year so far, will enable even higher numbers for the second fortnight of the month." For his part, José Carlos Escribano, said that "expectations are being met and hotel occupancy on the Costa del Sol in August is a healthy 80%, 1% more than in 2012. In Marbella’s case, it amounts to 82%, which is actually two points above the average. He also forecasted that in September “this positive trend will continue and an increase of 2% is expected”. Hernandez also commented that he is very pleased with the report released by the U.S. consulting firm STR Global that places Marbella as the most cost-effective Spanish tourist destination, above cities like Barcelona, Madrid and Palma de Mallorca

He stated that the average price per hotel room in Marbella during the month of June was 157 euros compared to Palma de Mallorca’s 96, and that this price reflects an increase of 8% over the price during the same period last year. This data "confirms that Marbella is without doubt Spain’s tourist destination par excellence in terms of quality." He has also described the profile of the average tourist, which continues to rise in socioeconomic means. Marbella’s tourism is mainly international, as shown by the 70 to 30% ratio of international versus national tourists. He specified that "this percentage evens out in summer by 60-40%, but it is clear that Marbella’s tourism is being boosted by international tourists arriving via Malaga Airport. Significant growth can be seen, as in the case of Russian tourism market, which could reach 50 % this year, the Persian Gulf and the Moroccan’s market with high purchasing power”.

José Carlos Escribano also said that he considers the recently approved government’s measure that will reduce by 50% the hotels’ Economic Activities Tax (IAE) for hotels that stay open throughout the year, as “very positive”. He asserted that "support for the tourism industry should also come from the economic arena" and he has advanced that his association will bring up their requests to different administrative government agencies.