Andalusia tourism authorities reported the latest data for January, when more than 1.98 million overnight stays and 816,000 hotel guests were recorded in the Spanish autonomous community. This represents increases of 12.3 and 11.8 percent respectively, compared to 2015, and a record high for January.
The Andalusian Minister of Tourism and Sports, Francisco Javier Fernández, hailed the start of the tourist year in Andalusia, announcing the positive numbers. He pointed to the "very positive behavior" of local and foreign source markets, and stressed the importance of these results, especially since they are occurring during the off-season. ¨
In this regard he noted that the Andalusia tourism data show that "…we are on the right track to let our potential customers know that Andalusia is a destination that has everything for everyone all year round."
The Minister recalled that in 2015 the destination recorded "excellent numbers" because of the extension of the season into the spring and autumn months, and he announced that his department’s projection for the first quarter of this year points to sustained growth in overnight stays in hotels of over 10 percent on average.
Specifically, in January Andalusia recorded a total of 816,530 visitors staying in hotels (+ 11.8%), representing growth in both the international (+ 14.3%) and national (+10.1%) markets. At the same time, hotel stays reached 1,983,815, up 12.3 percent, thanks again to the local (+ 11.2%) and overseas (13.5%) visitors.
Mr. Fernández stated that with these figures Andalusia tourism has grown more than 4 points above the national average in terms of overnight stays and with a 13.7 percent share the region occupies second place in the ranking of hotels in Spain. He also noted that the destination "maintains its leadership" in overnight stays by domestic tourists, with more than a million and 18.5 percent of the Spanish total.
Regarding the provinces, most of them showed positive results in January for both the amount of visitors and overnight stays. Destinations recording double-digit growth in overnight stays and above the regional average include Huelva, with an increase of 77.1 percent; Almería, with 39.5 percent; and Seville, with 21 percent. Jaén also stood out with an increase of 11.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the province of Málaga increased the amount of overnight stays in January by 9.7 percent to over 771,000 and Cadiz registered an increase of almost 8 percent. Granada and Córdoba maintained their results compared to the same month in 2015 but saw an increase of nearly 3 percent in the number of tourists staying in hotels and 4.7 percent in overnight stays.