The establishments that are part of the Hotel and Non-Hotel Association of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Ashotel) expect to approach the occupancy figures of 2019 this summer until almost equaling them. This was stated yesterday by the president of the employers’ association, Jorge Marichal, who specified that it is expected to reach 76% in July and August, which is only two points less compared to the forecast for 2019. This is data obtained from the internal survey carried out by Ashotel through its Tourism Competitiveness and Sustainability Observatory.
At a press conference, Marichal pointed out that the results were obtained between June 2 and 11 among 254 accommodation establishments, as well as representing more than 90,000 beds. “We can be very happy that the evolution is so positive,” said the sector leader about the data that has been achieved. The employers understand that this forecast “shows the recovery path of the accommodation sector, although it has not yet exceeded the pre-pandemic figures.”
for islands, El Hierro follows the trend of recent vacation periods, as well as recent monthly indicators, and is at the forefront in average occupancy forecasts this summer, with 78%, followed by Tenerife (76.4%), La Gomera (69%) and La Palma (68.6 %). “La Isla Bonita recovers positions compared to occupancy indicators of past months, which placed it below 50%, and slightly exceeds the figure for 2019 (68%)”, they quantified from Ashotel.
Marichal and the manager of Ashotel, Juan Pablo González, carried out this Tuesday a review of the islands and also of the outstanding tourist areas. The South of Tenerife is the one that reaches the highest occupancy rate in the months of July and August, with 80.3% (-1.7 points compared to 2019 forecasts), while the North plans to achieve 64, 3% of its accommodation capacity during the summer season (-3.7 points) and in the Metropolitan Area the estimate is 46.3% (-0.7 points). «The case of La Palma presents the special casuistry that several establishments in the tourist area of Puerto Naos, in Los Llanos de Aridane, have remained closed since the eruption of the volcano, in September 2019, due to the accumulation of gases that make incompatible the normal development of the activity”, collects the Ashotel press release.
The representatives of the hotel management also indicated that the average estimates are not far between July and August, according to the data collected and processed by the Ashotel Tourism Sustainability and Competitiveness Observatory. Specifically, this platform is aimed at “surveillance, intelligence and prospective in sustainability, corporate responsibility and innovation in the accommodation sector in the Canary Islands”. It is constituted within the sustainability and digitization strategy of Ashotel 2030.
During the appearance, Jorge Marichal He highlighted the importance of having recovered practically all employment in the accommodation sector after the harsh years of the pandemic. “The hotels and apartments are open today because in a few months we have recovered the jobs, essential for the development of this activity,” said the president of Ashotel.
High operating costs
“There is a hunger for tourism in our competing destinations,” said the head of the Hotel and Non-Hotel Association of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, who, however, indicated that the negative news is the high operating costs of the establishments, which have skyrocketed around 30%, mainly due to the price of energy.
For its part, Juan Pablo González pointed out that, of the traditional markets in the Canary Islands, the German is the most withdrawn, «which is reflected in the forecasts of occupation of the northern area of Tenerife, with a majority of Germans». “This is due to the fact that this market is more far-sighted, more conservative, and that they have inflation skyrocketing to 6%, a circumstance that does not benefit us,” added Marichal, who, in any case, was confident that the arrival of these Travellers.
Another aspect addressed by the president of Ashotel was the “very large” demand that currently exists, which means that a competing destination such as Greece is “practically full” and that other places are also receiving visitors, since Despite this, the Islands are obtaining good data.
