The Canary Islands closed the first quarter of the year with a hotel occupancy rate of 82%, as compared to 66% in the same period last year or the 79% recorded in 2019, before the pandemic, according to data from the sector barometer prepared jointly by STR and Cushman & Wakefield and which shows how the average revenue and prices recorded by the hotel industry at the beginning of the year confirm its rebound.
In total, Spanish hotels have registered an average occupancy rate of 65% during the first quarter of the year, 26.4% more than in the same period last year, when the Omicron variant affected the results. Hotel activity in Spain shows an almost full recovery after the restrictions suffered in the aftermath of the pandemic. This recovery is reflected in good occupancy for the first quarter of 65%, 26.4% more than last year and only two percentage points below that achieved in 2019.
Average daily rate (ADR) was around 120 euros, 13% higher than in 2022, while revenue per available room (RevPar) benefited from both improved demand and higher prices, rising to 78 euros, 43% higher than in the same period last year. These data significantly improve the figure recorded in 2019 when an average daily price was recorded at around €103 while revenue per available room stood at €69. This represents an improvement in 2023 of 16% and 13% respectively in these parameters.
The Canary Islands are followed by Malaga with 74.3%, 12 percentage points more than last year and also half a point more than in 2019, demonstrating that the capital of the Costa del Sol attracts tourism throughout the year in its commitment to deseasonalisation.
In the rest of the cities, the great improvement of Barcelona stands out, 67% during the first three months when in 2022 it was 47%, a growth of 43%. Among the destinations with lower occupancy are those most affected by seasonality, such as Marbella (50%) or the Balearic Islands (49%).
THE CANARY ISLANDS: PRICES CONTINUE THEIR UPWARD TREND
And with these occupancy levels, prices continue their upward trend since the recovery of activity, benefiting from the increase and consistency of demand, but also from inflation. For the moment, hotels are seeing how demand is responding positively to this increase, which has allowed the ADR for the first quarter to rise to 120 euros.
The average price ranking is led by Marbella with 152 euros despite low occupancy, while the Canary Islands with 145 euros benefits from the high season (20% more than the 120 euros in 2019) and Barcelona, with 143 euros (7.5% more than in 2019), notes positively the arrival of international tourism.
Madrid, meanwhile, recorded an average price of 129 euros, a positive figure that is 20% above the 107 euros of the same first quarter of 2019, before the pandemic. Among the destinations in Spain that have exceeded the 100 euros average price, Malaga (110 euros) and Seville (105 euros) also stand out, and very close to that level Valencia (99 euros). The lowest price was found in Zaragoza (66 euros).
The rise in occupancy and the increase in prices has allowed hotels to increase revenue per available room in the first months of the year to 78 euros, 43% more than a year earlier. During the first quarter, the Canary Islands led this ranking thanks to its high season with a figure of 119 euros, which is 28% more than that achieved last year and 25% more than that achieved in 2019 (95 euros).
The first quarter is traditionally a low season in most destinations in Spain but, despite this, revenue per available room has grown very notably in destinations such as Barcelona (+81%), Valencia (+54%) and Madrid (+49%). The lowest RevPAR is in Zaragoza (45 euros) and the Balearic Islands (45 euros), in this case as a result of low occupancy due to seasonality.
