While tourist flat bookings are between 90 and 95%, hotel establishments are still a few points below the 2019 figures.
Tourism has been one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic. However, the Valencia Region is one of the strongest autonomous regions in terms of the supply of quality, regulated occasional housing. Currently, of the 85,000 flats and holiday flats established in the provinces of Castellón, Valencia and Alicante, 90% of them are reserved for the summer season.
For its part, two and a half years after the beginning of the pandemic, the Valencian Community expects to exceed 95% average occupancy, according to the president of the Association of Regulated Tourist Apartments of the Comunitat (APTUR CV), Miguel Angel Sotillos. In addition, bookings made for this summer during the first 6 months of the year have grown by between 15 and 20%.
The shift in the accommodation sector from hotels to tourist accommodation is already a reality in the Valencian Community. Those commonly known as “tourist flats” have overtaken hotel establishments this summer, with record occupancy figures expected to exceed 95% in some cases. Inflation and the incessant rise in prices could be the reason for this drift in the Valencian accommodation sector.
The Association of Tourist Apartment Companies of the Valencian Community (APTUR CV) has described this summer 2022 campaign as “one of the best in recent years”, as 90% of tourist accommodation is booked for July and August. The tourist homes in the Valencian Community or short-stay rental villas allow you to travel off the cusp.
“The evolution of bookings during the first half of the year reflects people’s desire to get away after the pandemic. The tourist homes in the Valencian Community or short-stay rental villas allow you to travel à la carte, thanks to a wide range of destinations and prices that guarantee security and privacy,” says Miguel Angel Sotillos, president of APTUR CV.
The Association reminds us that in the region there are more than 85,000 properties for tourist use, which add up to a total of 250,000 accommodation places, 55% of the places available in the whole of the Valencian Community.
Meanwhile, at the hotel employers’ association of the Community, HOSBEC, regret that the occupancy figures have so far not reached the pre-pandemic figures (2019), a situation that they blame on the strikes and conflicts in British and European airports, the upturn of the seventh wave of the covid-19, high inflation, and the “current complicated economic situation”. The tourist destinations of the Valencian Community remain strong, but there is still a lot of reconstruction work to be done”.
Although the differences are not glaring in the comparison with 2019, in general, the forecasts remain a few points below the occupancy figures from before the pandemic. “The tourist destinations of the Valencian Community remain strong, but there is still a lot of work to be done to rebuild,” says the HOSBEC.
Benidorm was close to 84% average occupancy in the second half of June and is almost seven points short of the 2019 figures. The rest of Costa Blanca does meet expectations with 80.1% “thanks to the strong push from the national market” and exceeds the 2019 figures by just over one point.
Valencia recorded the best occupancy rate of the entire region in the second half of June, with 86.7%, although it is almost two points behind the pre-pandemic figures. Finally, Castellón continues its growth towards the high season with an average occupancy rate of 73% in its hotels.
According to HOSBEC, the forecasts for the first fortnight of July announce a very similar situation, and “there are still many beds to be sold”. Benidorm has booked more than 81% of its hotel capacity, the rest of the Costa Blanca 73.1%, Valencia 82.6%, and Castellón 68%, figures that are a far cry from those of the holiday homes and flats sector.