9.6 million overnight stays show shift in Canary Islands tourism

The key points: Show summary Hide summary

There are 40,837 holiday lettings in the Canary Islands. That is around 14 per cent fewer than a year ago.
Overnight stays nevertheless rose to 9.6 million. Eight out of ten of these were accounted for by foreign visitors.
Hotels generated 579 million euros in August. That was 8.8 per cent more than in the previous year.

Members see a handy summary here

Tourism in the Canary Islands continues to undergo major changes. The Canary Islands‘ Statistical Office (Canary Islands, ISTAC) reports that there are 40,837 holiday lettings. This is around 14 per cent fewer than a year ago. At the same time, accommodation providers across the archipelago are reporting an increase in overnight stays.

Hide advertising here!

Tenerife accounts for the largest share, with 41 per cent of holiday lettings, ahead of Gran Canaria with 21 per cent. Next come Lanzarote with 17 per cent and Fuerteventura with 15 per cent of holiday lettings in the Canary Islands. In total, this amounts to more than 161,000 beds.

In the Canary Islands, more than 38,500 of the nearly 41,000 holiday flats were booked at least once in August. Despite it being the low season, this corresponds to an occupancy rate of 94.4 per cent, reports ISTAC. Statisticians have uncovered what appears to be a contradiction here. Although the total number of holiday homes on offer has fallen significantly, the number of overnight stays has risen by a six-figure increase:

Canary Islands: How the holiday let market is changing

Accommodation providers recorded an increase of around 192,000, bringing the total number of overnight stays to 9.6 million. In this analysis, ISTAC includes hotels in the Canary Islands. Eight out of ten of these overnight stays were accounted for by guests from abroad. Put another way, this represents a 4.7 per cent increase in Spanish visitors.

In terms of the number of people staying in the Canary Islands, this also represented an increase: 1.3 million tourists visited the archipelago in August, around 4.5 per cent more than in the previous year. Taking all types of accommodation into account, the occupancy rate was therefore just over 83 per cent.

According to the Office for National Statistics, hotels generated 579 million euros in turnover. This was 8.8 per cent more than in the previous year. This increase is attributed not only to the rise in the number of guests but also to higher prices. A hotel room therefore cost 118.60 euros. Based on the number of rooms actually booked, the average price was 142.50 euros.

In August, 76,251 people were employed in the tourism sector across 1,280 businesses. This works out at a ratio of 5.6 employees per 100 holidaymakers.