MADRID- Hotels in Spain increased their rates by 36 percent in April from a year ago, charging 96.3 euros ($103.4) per night on average around the Easter holidays that marked a long-awaited rebound of tourism after the COVID-19 pandemic, official data showed.
The average rate was also 15 percent higher than in April 2019, before the pandemic struck in early 2020, bringing global travel to a near halt and forcing the few hotels that remained open to significantly lower their rates.
The National Statistics Institute on Tuesday said rooms in five-star hotels cost 23 percent more than a year ago, averaging 226.5 euros per night. Ironically, staying in cheaper, two-star hotels was now 40 percent more expensive, with rates at 66 euros.
Hoteliers have been able to adjust their rates and cover the inflation and energy price rises thanks to a significant increase in foreign tourism, mostly from Britain and Germany, as the European countries eased or lifted travel restrictions.
In March and April this year, the number of clients staying in Spanish hotels rose more than five times from a year ago, and 40 percent of them were residents in the country, INE added.
Tourist arrivals in April were at 86 percent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels and some popular islands hosted the same number of holidaymakers as they did before the pandemic, according to official figures. – Reuters
