According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) on Monday, non-hotel tourism has returned to pre-pandemic levels this summer. The report shows an increase of 3.7% in overnight stays in tourist accommodation outside the hotel sector, compared to the first eight months of 2019. Occupancy improved by 3.9% during the same period. Although there was a 1.6% reduction in overnight stays in non-hotel accommodation in August, the overall trend is positive. It indicates a recovery in activity levels compared to pre-pandemic times.
Non-hotel tourist accommodation (EOAT) travelers stay an average of 4.9 nights.
Spanish tourist apartments are popular among foreign tourists
Regarding the source of tourists, non-residents account for 56.3% of occupancy in tourist apartments. Official statistics from INE show that the United Kingdom is the primary source of tourists, with over 1.8 million overnight stays. Following the UK, French tourists are the second-largest group, with one million overnight stays in Spanish tourist apartments in August. The Valencian Community is the most popular destination for domestic and foreign tourists, with over 2.5 million overnight stays in August. The Balearic Islands have the highest occupancy rate, with 87.7% occupied apartments.
Overnight stays at campsites increased
In contrast, campsite overnight stays increased 1.2% in August compared to last year, and according to INE records, national and foreign tourists contributed to this increase, with a 0.3% and 2.8% rise in overnight stays.
During August, 60.5% of the available campsite plots were occupied, a 1.4% increase from August 2022. Of all the overnight stays at campsites, 36.3% were made by non-resident travelers, with French tourists being the highest.
Rural tourism and hostels fall among Spaniards
In August, there was a 2% decrease in overnight stays in rural tourism accommodations. This was mainly due to the decline of domestic travelers. However, foreign tourists had an increase of 7.8% in overnight stays during the same period.
In August, the number of overnight stays in hostels decreased compared to the same month in the previous year. 977,886 overnight stays were recorded, a slight decrease of 0.3% from the prior year. While there was a 10.6% decrease in overnight stays by resident tourists, there was a 13.5% increase in non-resident tourists, resulting in almost the same figures as in August 2022. Galician hostels were the preferred accommodation for those opting for this type of lodging, with a total of 258,221 overnight stays, largely due to the presence of pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. However, the Community of Madrid hostels had the highest occupancy rate, with 54.5% occupied in August.
