Marbella’s Seaside Promenade Image in May: Foreign Visitors Sustain Tourism Data
In May, Marbella’s tourism data was sustained by foreign visitors, particularly in the hotel sector, as the arrival of Spanish tourists dropped to a minimum. The figures are still far from those recorded in 2019, before the pandemic, although there is an improvement in overnight stays and average stay, with a record 75.89% occupancy rate.
Foreign Tourists Maintain May Tourism Data in Marbella
The influx of foreign tourists has kept the tourism data for May in Marbella steady, despite a decline in domestic visitors, which nearly hit a record low. The number of hotel visitors is still far from what it was before the pandemic, but overnight stays and the average stay are on the rise, resulting in a record occupancy rate.
Statistics from the National Institute of Statistics (INE)
These figures are provided by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) through the Hotel Occupancy Survey (EOH) for May. Last month, Marbella welcomed 73,479 visitors who stayed in hotels, a 5.51% increase from 2022, when there were 69,638 visitors.
Visitor Numbers Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
Although the data is positive, it is still far from the 2019 figures, the year before the pandemic (81,945), and the record for May, which was set in 2017, with 86,198 visitors. Of the total number of tourists who arrived in Marbella, 60,909 were foreigners, the fourth highest figure in the historical series (since 2005).
Decline in Spanish Visitors
In contrast, there were only 12,570 Spanish visitors, the second lowest figure for this period, only slightly better than in 2018, when there were 12,226 domestic visitors.
Overnight Stays
In May, there were 300,669 overnight stays in Marbella, 37,174 more nights than in the same period in 2022, when there were 263,495. The figures are better than those of 2019 (284,041), although they are still below the record of 307,735 set in 2015.
Record Foreign Tourist Overnight Stays
Of this year’s total, 262,784 were foreign tourists, a record for this month in the historical series. The other 37,885 hotel nights were Spanish visitors, the third lowest figure since data was first recorded in 2005.
Other Data
In May of this year, with an estimated 87 establishments open, a record occupancy rate of 75.89% was registered. The average stay also increased, slightly exceeding four days (4.09), while, according to the INE, the hotel sector employed 4,177 people last month. The average price per room was 189.86 euros, surpassing the 143.27 euros of 2019, while the revenue per occupied room (RevPar) was 143.18 euros, a new record.
