In the first half of the year the city has recorded more than one million overnight stays thanks to the pull of domestic tourism, which has grown by almost 11%. Brazil, China, Austria, Italy, South Korea, Ireland, Denmark, Turkey and Sweden are the fastest growing international markets. Average occupancy in these six months has exceeded 70%, meaning an increase of 5.9%, and the average stay was 1.96 days.
Malaga has completed the first half of the year with the best tourist results ever. According to the joint report of the National Statistics Institute (INE), between January and June a total of 514,466 tourists have stayed in hotels in the city, 4% more than in the same period of 2014. This is the first time the figure of half a million tourists in the first six months of the year has been exceeded.
These figures have been made possible thanks to the great performance of the domestic market, which has grown back to pre-crisis levels. In fact, in the first half of the year, hotels in the city have hosted a total of 247,528 Spanish tourists, 10.8% more than in the same period last year. Meanwhile, foreign tourists have reached the number of 266,938, a decrease of 1.5%.
Also the hotel stays have had an excellent record. Thus, between January and June, in the hotels in the city there have been a total of 1,007,113 overnight stays, 1.3% more than in the same period of 2014. Also in this case stands out the strong pull of Spanish tourism. In fact, hotel stays generated by domestic tourists increased by 5.7%, to 430,176. Meanwhile, the overnight stays by foreigners decreased by 1.8%, to 576,937.
The average occupancy in this period was 70%, 5.9% more than in the same months last year. The average stay, meanwhile, has been 1.96 days. Thus, the Councillor for Tourism and Promotion of the City, Julio Andrade, pointed out that Malaga “has become one of the great destinations in Spain, which has not stopped growing even in the worst years of the economic crisis.”
Only in June a total of 93,940 tourists stayed in hotels in the city, 7.4% more than in the same month last year. These travelers have generated 191,899 overnight stays, an increase of 2.8%. Thus, the average occupancy rate last month was 79.4% and the average stay exceeded 2.04 days.
In the national context, Malaga took back its place among the fastest growing destinations, ahead of Barcelona (7.4%), Bilbao (4.9%), Madrid (4.2%), Valencia (3, 1%), Cordoba (1.7%), Granada (-1.5%) and Palma de Mallorca (-3.7%). Similarly, the city of Malaga has outgrown the whole province (4%), Andalusia (2.9%) and Spain (4.1%), which shows the extraordinary strength of the destination.
Within the national tourism markets that have grown in Malaga during the first half of the year were the Basque Country (27%), Andalusia (20.4%), Murcia (20.1%), Castilla-La Mancha (19, 5%), Valencia (9.1%) and Ceuta and Melilla (4.4%). In any case, in absolute terms the most important markets remain Andalusia, with 128,698 travelers (up 20.1%); Madrid, with 38,535 travelers (down 8.5%) and Catalonia, with 16,781 travelers (up 1.6%).
Meanwhile, international markets that have grown in the first half of the year were Brazil (47.6%), China (45.9%), Austria (29.7%), Italy (28.1%), South Korea (26.6%), Ireland (18.7%), Denmark (13.3%) and Turkey (12.4%). In absolute terms the countries sending most international tourists to the city of Malaga remain UK, with 38,030 travelers (up 3.9%); Germany, with 24,603 travelers (17.3% less); and Italy with 23,751 travelers (28.1% more).
