Marbella Golf Course Sees Increased Tourist Arrivals
The number of tourists visiting Marbella’s golf course in February increased compared to the previous year. However, the figures are still far from the pre-pandemic levels. This trend is also reflected in overnight stays. The average stay has increased to 3.20 days, and a record number of people have been employed by the sector during this time of the year.
Positive Tourism Data for February
Overall, the tourism data for February shows an increase compared to the previous year. However, there is a less positive aspect as the pre-pandemic levels have not been reached yet. In 2023, the number of visitors and overnight stays increased, mainly due to the rise in domestic tourists. The average stay also increased, although the occupancy rate decreased. Meanwhile, a record number of people were employed by the hotel sector.
Latest Data from the Hotel Occupancy Survey
The latest data from the Hotel Occupancy Survey (EOH) of the National Institute of Statistics (INE) shows that the municipality received 33,040 visitors who stayed in hotels in February. This is 1,741 more than the previous year (31,299), an increase of 5.56%. The figure is significantly lower than February 2020, before the pandemic, when 47,279 tourists arrived. The historical record for this time of the year was in 2006, with 54,943 visitors. As usual, the number of foreign tourists (19,924) is higher than domestic ones (13,116), although the latter increased more compared to the previous year.
Overnight Stays in February
In February, 105,781 overnight stays were recorded in Marbella, which is 7,901 more hotel nights than the previous year, an increase of 8.07%. However, this figure is significantly lower (-35,409) than in 2020, when there were 141,190 hotel stays. The overnight stays of foreign tourists amounted to 76,172 (1,623 less than the previous year), while those of Spaniards reached 29,609 (9,524 more).
Other Data
The room occupancy rate was 52.02%, lower than the previous year (54.09%) and also below the 2020 record (56.20%). In February, according to the INE, 60 establishments were open, five less than in the same month of 2023. The average stay was 3.20 days, slightly above the 3.13 of the previous year and the best since 2018. The revenue per available room (RevPar) in February increased to 71.43 euros from 72.29 euros in 2023. The average room price in Marbella’s establishments set a new record at 142.93 euros, compared to 134.35 euros the previous year. This is the highest figure for this month. As for the staff employed by the hotels, according to the INE, it was 2,513 workers, which is a record for this month of the year.
