Tourism activity in Spain evolves positively in summer

But how do these data translate within a context of growing concern about maintaining business margins in the face of persistently rising costs?

The first thing we notice is that the increase compared to 2019 is +14.6% and that it has a different behaviour depending on the subsector. For example, for hotels, the rise is even higher at +17.8% and there are no major differences between holiday (+17.7%) and urban (+18.1%). In companies and leisure institutions the increase is slightly lower with +15.9%. From here, data from other sub-sectors show a smaller increase, such as travel agencies (+9%), transport companies (+10.3%) and car rental (+5.3%) with more moderate growth.

The rise could be even greater

Despite the good figures, hospitality companies are -22.1% below the results they should have generated if there had been no pandemic and if the average operating result for the period 2015-2019 had been maintained. Tourism companies improve results due to higher volume of operations and price increases, although in all sub-sectors of their value chain the better results obtained since 2022 cannot yet compensate for what was lost during the pandemic.

The increase in expenses should also be taken into account, in this sense wage costs are +19.8% above those of 2021, fuel costs +38.0%, electricity and gas +26.3%, supplies +27.0% and financial costs +10.8%, well above the average increase of +18.0% in final prices, according to the tourism heading of the CPI, prepared by the INE.

In terms of job creation, we note the commitment of tourism companies to creating more and better jobs. September closed with 134,000 more Social Security affiliates than in 2019 (+7.8%) and 102,000 more than in 2022. Hiring was also more stable with more permanent contracts and led in wage growth.

Interesting data from the report

Below, we highlight other more significant data that Exceltur analyses in its assessment:

• Origin of demand:
  • Foreign: intensifies its growth in summer, mainly in terms of expenditure (+15.9% Jul-Aug vs 2019, +13.6% in company sales Jul-Sep vs 2019), but not so much in volume (+1.1%) due in part to competition from European and Eastern Mediterranean destinations (Greece, Morocco, Turkey and Portugal).
  • Domestic:
    • Sales +15.7% above 2019.
    • Overnight stays in campsites are the ones that increase the most: +10%.

• By Autonomous Regions: revenues (compared to 2019):
  • Coastal and urban:
    • Balearic Islands (+22.8%)
    • Canary Islands (+19.4%)
    • Valencian Community (+16.8%)
    • Catalonia (+15.5%)
    • Andalusia (+16%)
  • North:
    • Basque Country (+27.4%)
    • Cantabria, (+15.6%)
    • Galicia (+27%)
    • Asturias (+26.1%)
      

• By destinations: those with the best product and with the most public investment in improving their environments are those with the highest growth compared to 2019 (revenue per room levels):
  • Ibiza and Formentera (+47.5%)
  • Menorca (+35.3%)
  • Costa de Barcelona (+15.6%)
  • Costa del Sol (+28.9%)
  • Majorca (+25.2%)
  • Cadiz Coast (+15.4%)
  • Lanzarote (+30.2%)

What's to come in the last quarter of the year

According to the report, the expectations of Spanish tourism entrepreneurs reveal that tourism activity will intensify its dynamism in the last months of 2023 with a forecast rise of +15.8% vs IVtr of 2019. The recovery is therefore consolidating from less to more throughout the year. Tourism will contribute decisively to the performance of the Spanish economy in 2023, explaining 21.8% of its growth in current terms, 42.6% if we eliminate the effect of prices on the value of Tourism GDP and that of the Spanish economy.

For more information you can download HERE the full report.