The low season starts with good prospects in the tourism segment and hoteliers estimate to reach a 75.73% occupancy for Puente del Pilar, with the arrival of 150,000 tourists of which 60, 61% are foreigners, according to the Association of Hotel Entrepreneurs of the Costa del Sol (Aehcos).
The five-star Gran Lujo Los Monteros hotel, in Marbella, had already consolidated for the Puente del Pilar in the middle of the week “an occupation of 75%”, a percentage that will have been increased by registering a “last minute trend” in terms of daily reservations, according to its director, Fernando Al-Farkh. The predominant public of the tourist establishment is “de national origin for the bridge, but there is a rebound in British tourists for the entire month of October “, he pointed out.
Its origin is mainly from regions such as “Andalusia, Madrid, some of Catalonia and the Mediterranean coast and some Basque”. The sun and beach and the warm temperature offered by the Costa del Sol in October are the main demands of these visitors, he pointed out. The businessman, who represents Aehcos in Marbella, has roughly estimated that the city could register an occupancy level during the Hispanic festivity “in a range between 75 and 80%”.
The director of the five-star Gran Lujo Puente Romano hotel in Marbella, Alberto Muñoz, had an occupancy forecast of 90%, so he has estimated that during this Puente de la Hispanidad the establishment will be “almost complete”, a figure that could have been increased with last minute bookings.
The international nature of the destination implies that the profile of clients who stay in this long weekend in the five stars is the one of “mainly Europeans” from countries such as “England, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland or Scandinavia”. A) Yes, “15% are Spanish customers”, so they have valued that the national holiday “has no impact.”
Similar figures are recorded in the four-star Meliá Marbella Banús hotel, located in Puerto Banús, which for this bridge it is “complete”, as detailed by its director, Tamara Cordero, who stressed that the clientele is mostly “international” with “two groups from Belgium and Mexico.” In this way, during the El Pilar festival, the national public represents “30%” of the guests, mainly from “Madrid and some from Valencia”, while “70% are international.” Both seek “the sun” and the “gastronomic offer”. “In October the occupancy is above 2019 and the average price as well,” the board celebrated, who valued that “confidence in travel is recovering little by little,” he emphasized.
Similar percentages showed in the middle of the week tourist establishments located in the urban area of the city, such as those run by the Monarque chain, with a percentage “above 96%” in the three-star hotel El Rodeo and “above 87%” in the Aparthotel Sultán, as detailed by the director of the brand in Andalusia, Federico López. This “full technical” is led by a “70% national” audience.
The director of the five-star Vincci Selección Estrella del Mar, Lorenzo Delgado, foresees “a good occupancy above 80%” for the bridge, highlighting acPrimarily foreign lientela such as “British, Belgian, Dutch, or Central European”. Thus, they are “families and couples who come to enjoy our climate, facilities and gastronomy in autumn.” The demand revolves around “the climate, relaxation, gastronomy, the enjoyment of our facilities, the Spa, treatments, etc”.