Poor quarter mars record
Hotels see record turnover increase of 6% despite final quarter marred by terrorist attack, political instability and public losing patience with tourism
Barcelona’s hotel sector continues to register record turnover, 6% higher than in 2016. Despite annual occupancy sitting at an average a 80%, the higher turnover is most likely due to an increase of €7 per night with the average price per room now at €138. All this in a complicated context and a “fateful” final quarter with losses of 15% in October and November and 25% in December. The President of the Hotel Association, Jordi Clos, says the forecast for 2018 is for the losses to continue and no likely change until 2021. Clos said that this year there have been 2,000 contracts in the sector which have not been renewed.
The reason for this fall is the growth of a negative image of the brand of Barcelona due to an accumulation of negative factors: the terrorists attack on August 17 in the very heart of the city, the strike at El Prat airport, attacks by protest groups on tourist infrastructure and the political climate. Four facts Clos says have led to significant decreases, for example, in five-star hotel bookings, down 35% in December. And, more importantly, Barcelona is being ignored or automatically excluded with respect to large international trade fairs or important events. “We are in or we are out,” he said. As well, some of the larger businesses which have left Catalonia no longer hold executive meetings, events or awards ceremonies in the city. A fact reflected in the significant drop in hotel turnover.
The hotel guild has asked Ada Colau for greater implication in promotion in economic terms and stressed the need to ensure that events such as the Mobile World Congress remain in the city to counter negative press.