The month of June closed with a hotel occupancy rate of 80.5% in the establishments grouped in the Alicante Provincial Hotel Association (APHA), according to an official report.
According to APHA, this is “a good result when compared to the one registered a year earlier, which was 22.3 percentage points lower, but which is confirmation that the situation of the economy is already making itself felt in tourism”. The figure for June, which in a stable situation is always higher than that for May, this time is 1.3 points below the figure for the previous month, which was 81.8%. June 2019 reached a rate of 91.1%, up 10.6 percentage points, according to APHA.
“The good weather conditions and the first Bonfire parties after the pandemic have not been enough to avoid a slowdown that breaks the upward trend that had been taking place since the beginning of the year and that sows doubts regarding the results of July and August”, adds the hotel management.
This provincial result finds notable differences between localities and areas. Thus, the city of Alicante scored 85.5%. The best figures took place in Jávea (94.1%), Playa de San Juan (94.0%), Sant Joan d’Alacant (87.0%) and Elche (86.7%).
Below the provincial average are Orihuela (75.1%), Santa Pola (73.5%), El Campello (71.0%), inland hotels (69.8%), Guardamar del Segura (67.4%), Mutxamel (55.3%), Villajoyosa (54.8%) and Algorfa (39.7%). Grouped together, the coastal and beach destinations (apart from Alicante) achieved 77.0%, while those in the interior achieved 60.0%.
Regarding the origin of the tourists who visited the province in June, there is a predominance of international demand (59.4%), while national travellers account for 40.6%. Of those who arrived from other countries, those from the United Kingdom (22.8%), Norway (7.1%), France (7.0%), Ireland (6.5%), Sweden (5.3%) and Germany (4.8%) stand out. Of the Spanish nationals, the arrivals from the Valencian Community itself stand out (33.3%), followed by those from the Community of Madrid (23.5%), Catalonia (9.2%), Castilla La Mancha (7.1%), Andalusia (5.9%) and Castilla y León (4.6%).
APHA points out that, “despite the uncertainties, the hotels and tourist accommodation in the province are making the maximum effort to attract visitors and maintain the highest levels of quality. We ask all Alicante municipalities to take extreme care in everything that affects the image of our destinations, since a satisfactory experience is the most effective advertising”.
Among these issues, they list “street cleaning, street furniture maintenance, lighting, gardening or beach cleaning and services” as essential elements at this time of the season. “The damage or lack of care in any of these elements are spread by dissatisfied tourists and ruin the professional work of many months. We hope that the municipal departments are agile to repair as soon as possible busy sidewalks with evident deterioration or benches without minimal maintenance that do not invite vacationers to use them, as we can see in Playa de San Juan and other points on the Costa Blanca”, concludes APHA.
