In September, overnight stays in Catalonia dropped by 5%, which represents a four months setback, while in the overall figure for Spain it fell by a 0.4%.
Spanish hotels recorded 37.8 million overnight stays last September, 0.4% less compared to the same month of 2017, according to data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE). This decline is explained by the 0.8% decrease in overnight stays of foreigners, as those of domestics increased by 0.5% in comparison to September 2017.
In the case of Catalonia, the number of visitors from the rest of Spain fell by 5% in September, meaning a four-month setback for the autonomous community. This way, amounting to 13.3% of total overnight stays, Catalonia falls to the third position in the list of favorite destinations for domestic tourists, who opt first for Andalusia (21%), and secondly for the Valencian Community (13.7%).
Overall, in the first nine months of 2018, overnight stays decreased by 0.6% in comparison to the same period of the previous year. According to the INE, the average stay for September of this year was at 3.4 nights per traveler, a 1% less than the same month of 2017.
In September, 68.1% of the vacancies offered were booked, with an annual decrease of 1.4%. On weekends, the rate of occupancy by vacancies was not altered, and remained at 72.3%.
The Balearic Islands had the highest occupancy rate by vacancies during the month of September (83%), followed by the Canary Islands (76.9%) and the Valencian Community (71.3%).
The annual rate of the Hotel Price Index (HPI) was at 0.6% in September, the same as in August, and 5.7 points below the figure registered a year ago.
By classification, prices go up in one silver-star establishments (+6.6%), two gold stars (+6%), one gold star (+1.4%), three gold stars (+0.8), and four gold stars (+0.3%). On the other hand, establishments with two and three silver stars decreased (-0.6%), as well as those with five gold-star ratings (-1.2%).
The average income per paid occupied room (ADR) was 90.3 euros, a 0.8% increase compared to September 2017. Additionally, revenue per available room (RevPAR), determined by the registered occupancy, reached 68.6 euros, which means a year-on-year decrease of 0.2%.
The Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Andalusia and the Canary Islands are the autonomous communities with the highest weighting in the average price, representing 74.8% of the total rate. The annual rate for hotel prices rose by 1.6% in Andalusia, 1.5% in Balearic Islands, and 0.5% in the Canary Islands. On the contrary, the rate decreased by 1.1% in Catalonia.
By categories, average rental income was 187.4 euros for five-star hotels, 97.8 euros for four-star hotels, and 75.7 euros for three-star. Revenue per available room for these classifications is 141.8 euros, 82.4 euros, and 61 euros, respectively.
Andalusia, the Valencian Community, Catalonia, and Community of Madrid became the main destinations for Spain’s domestic tourists in September, with annual variation rates in number of overnight stays: Andalusia (+6%), Valencian Community (-1.6%), Catalonia (-5%), and Community of Madrid (+6.6 %).
The main destination chosen by foreigner travelers was the Balearic Islands, registering a 32.7% of the total overnight stays. The overnight stays of foreigners in this archipelago remains the same compared to September 2017.
The next destinations chosen by foreign visitors were Catalonia (19.2% of total overnight stays, growing by 0.4%), and the Canary Islands (18.7% of the total, and decreased by 3.1%).
The tourist spots with the most overnight stays were Barcelona, Madrid and Calvià. Cambrils reached the highest occupancy rate by vacancies (94.3%), with Palma registering the highest weekend occupancy (90.4%).
In September, visitors arriving to Spain from the United Kingdom and Germany represented 27% and 21.9%, respectively, of the total number of overnight stays by foreigners in hotel establishments. The British issuing market dropped by 0.5%, while the German did so by 7%.
Other issuing markets registered different annual rates: France (+2.4%), the Netherlands (-4.8%), and Italy (+2.8%).