Malaga province accounted for more than a third of Andalucia’s hotel stays this summer, new figures have shown.
Hotels across the region registered 21 million overnight stays between July and September, up 2.1% on the previous year, according to a Junta report based on numbers from the National Statistics Institute.
Malaga contributed 37.4% of that total (approximately 7.9 million overnight stays), with its own figure rising by 0.7%.
The province’s hotel occupancy rate reached 77.13%, compared with an Andalucian average of 67.91%.
It also finished ahead of fellow coastal destinations Cadiz, which recorded 71.83%, and Huelva, at 69.5%.
The figures measure hotel activity rather than the entire tourism market, which also includes holiday rentals and other accommodation.
Across Andalucia, hotels welcomed 6.6 million guests over the three summer months, an increase of 2.1%.
International demand helped drive the growth. Foreign guest numbers rose by 2.2%, while their overnight stays increased by 3.5%.
Domestic guest numbers grew by 2%, with overnight stays up by a more modest 0.8%.
Employment in Andalucia’s hotels exceeded 59,000 during the summer period, almost 10% higher than a year earlier. Available capacity approached 325,000 bed spaces.
Despite the strong summer results, Costa del Sol hotel association Aehcos has urged caution over the possibility of weaker occupancy this autumn.
Malaga also recorded slower growth in overnight stays than most other Andalucian provinces.
Cadiz led the increases at 4.6%, followed by Cordoba at 4.5% and Jaen at 4.4%. Granada was the only province to register a decline, down 2.4%, despite receiving more hotel guests.
The summer performance helped Andalucia achieve its strongest January-to-September hotel figures on record.
Over those nine months, the region welcomed 16.3 million hotel guests and registered 47.4 million overnight stays, increases of 2.5% and 2.9% respectively.
The Junta said its priority was to spread tourism’s economic benefits throughout the year and encourage more activity in inland destinations.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
