Benidorm |
Many businessmen in the sector fear that the Costa Blanca may fall back into becoming a summer only destination, hit by the economic crisis and also cheaper flights to the Canaries where better winter weather is assured.
The hotel patronal has warned that unless urgent measures are taken, such as better promotion, improved infrastructure, and opening the Costa Blanca to new markets such as sports tourism, the region could become as seasonal as the Costa Brava.
According to the National Statistics Institute, INE, 70% of the visitors to the province of Alicante in November were Spanish. Even in Benidorm, the main winter resort on the Spanish mainland, Spaniards represented 30% of hotel occupancy compared to 14% foreigners.
Much of the Spanish cliental brings little revenue, with Imserso state run pensioners holidays paying between 18 and 25 € a night full board. Only consolidated hotel chains can survive at such a price , and sources quoted by InformaciĆ³n newspaper at the Hosbec hoteliers association say that unless things improve in the next few months, ‘we could face a serious problem’. Tourism income on the Costa Blanca is reported to be 23% below the national average.
Currently this winter there are 392 hotels open in Alicante province, which amounts to 62,000 beds, and average occupancy is 50%. These hotels give direct employment to 7,300 workers and generate hundreds of indirect jobs in providers etc.
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