Spain faces summer with skyrocketing accommodation and restaurant prices

Millions of Spaniards are beginning to count the days to pack their bags and go on vacation after a long year of work. Summer already feels close—it will officially start next Friday—and the desire to have a beer at a beach bar or sunbathe in the sun is growing. in crescendo. But This year we will have to dig deep to enjoy a vacation that seems prohibitive.. Expenses such as booking accommodation, dining at a restaurant or hiring a tourist package are skyrocketing compared to last year. And the high season hasn’t started yet.

Inflation does not take holidays. Although consumer prices have been reduced considerably in recent months, there is still a core of goods and services that refuses to go down. And a good part of them, we usually consume on vacation. The latest data provided by the INE, corresponding to May, indicate that Restaurants and hotels (5.2% more expensive than in 2023) are the CPI group that has increased the most in price next to the house. Even above food, which recorded an increase of 4.4%.

If we go into detail, we see how the price of national tourist packages has skyrocketed by 17.7% compared to last year. The one of hotels, hostels, pensions and similar grows by 9.4%while that of the tourist rentals it’s a 6.6% higher than at this point in 2023. The esfast food and takeaway establishments They are a 5.3% more expensive, and restaurants, cafes and the like have raised their prices by 4.8% compared to last year. The move will also be more expensive: the price of gasoline in May was 4.8% above 2023.

Hotels 36.5% more expensive than in 2019

Some of these amounts may seem unremarkable, but we must keep in mind that it rains in the wet. After the pandemic, tourist prices have skyrocketed. Since 2019, the cost of living has risen more than salaries, but the price of going on vacation has become even more expensive. The loss of tourist purchasing power has been notable in the last five years.

Booking a hotel is 36.5% more expensive that five years ago; buy one beer costs a 27.8% more, the rental of a apartment has gone up a 27.7%. The fast food or takeaway it’s a 25.1% more expensive and the rrestaurants, cafes and similar have gone up a 20.2% Price. Figures that far exceed the remuneration improvements that have been recorded in that time. From the end of 2019 to the beginning of 2024, Salaries per hour worked have grown by approximately 14%as reflected in the labor cost index published by the INE each quarter.

Furthermore, price increases have not occurred equally throughout the country. If we talk about tourism and hospitality, Balearic Islands (28.6%), Galicia (28.2%) and Castilla-La Mancha (27%) The largest increases were recorded compared to 2019. On the opposite side, Navarra (21.2%) and Asturias (23%) recorded the smallest increases, compared to a national average of 25.3%.

If we analyze how the accommodation prices at provincial level Since the pandemic, we can see how Murcia —with an increase of 39.5%— and the Balearic Islands (37.3%) are the territories where this section of spending has become most expensive. The Basque provinces, those of the Valencian Community and Madrid also exceed the national average of 30%.

Although it is still early to know how prices will behave this summer, there are already some signs. For example, the accommodation booking platform eBooking.com estimates that accommodations in the main beach cities will increase their rates by 7.3% on average this summer. We are talking about 195 euros per night, compared to the 182 that were registered last year.

Foreign tourism raises prices

The strong increases in tourism prices that are being seen these months They have a lot to do with boom of international traveler arrivals. As reflected by the Bank of Spain in its quarterly report published last week, foreign tourism was the main driver of economic growth in the first quarter.

More and more international travelers are arriving, spending more, staying longer and diversifying their destinations. Only between January and April 2024, foreign visitors spent 50% more than in the same period between 2016 and 2019. The strong demand of this tourist, with a purchasing power greater than that of the Spanish, It allows companies to raise prices.

Furthermore, forecasts indicate that International traveler arrivals will increase again this summer. A recent report from Turespaña predicts that air capacity from the United Kingdom will increase by 8% compared to the previous summer. Although the economic situation is delicate in Europe, the French and Germans are expected to continue traveling to Spain this holiday. The document also predicts that the frequencies of direct flights from the United States will increase by 16% and that air capacity from China will grow by 50% compared to the previous year.