On Friday last week we published an article regarding the impact of price rises and inflation and its possible effect of both the hospitality industry and timeshare. We mentioned the Sur in English, the weekly newspaper and on online site for Andalucia and quoted figures relating to costs rising in the hotel industry in Southern Spain. In this weeks edition of the paper there is a rather foreboding headline:
Tourist data for the Costa del Sol and Malaga province shows some cause for concern
The article quotes from a study carried out by AEHCOS who are the association of hotel businesses for the Costa del Sol. According to the latest study they concluded the number of foreign tourists arriving at Malaga Airport in August was less than expected, making up just 50 per cent of the overall figure.
August is a strange month for tourism on the Costa del Sol in as much as it’s the prime month for Spaniards to take their holiday. There is a very large influx of tourists from northern and central Spain, especially Madrid but normally this would not account for 50%. Foreign tourists are, by and large, miles ahead statistically.
The cost of living bites
To be fair we can’t substantiate that it’s the higher cost of living that has caused the lowering of foreign tourists to the area, but what we can prove are the figures provided by AEHCOS, who themselves attribute increased costs especially energy as being partially responsible, and we quote:
“Aehcos said that the increase in costs, especially energy, has contributed to the decline of important markets for the Costa del Sol between January and September: these include the Germans (with a fall of 26.1 per cent), the French (15.9 per cent), the British (13.6 per cent) and the Irish (11.6 per cent.”
In our previous article we cited a real example of price rises relating to a simple bottle of beer. The SUR article would seem to echo this as a potential problem, they quote:
One British bar owner in Benalmádena Costa told newspaper that, although there are people in the resort:
“The lack of tourists from the UK has been noticeable. Although the beaches are busy, there appears to be a lack of spending in the bars in this area,” he said.
TCA comment
The tourism industry is an extremely important contributor to the Spanish economy especially in areas such as Andalucia. As well as tourism to the Costa del Sol, the southern part of Spain is the largest olive growing area in the country and Spain overall is the largest producer and exporter of olive oil globally. The drought in Andalucia has all but devastated this year’s crop and with falling tourist numbers, things are not looking too good for the region, certainly in the short term.
Pessimistic it may be, but we don’t see any radical improvement. The prime holiday season is over with kids both in Spain and the UK ready to head back to school. It follows that if the peak season is over, the peak earnings period is also over. Between now and next summer we can only hope that the rain in Spain doesn’t fall mainly on the plain but over the olive groves of the south, that at least might repair one problem.
As for tourism, cost and affordability will no doubt be the deciding factor but right now, and for the foreseeable future, the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be getting dimmer whilst the tunnel gets longer. As we continually point out, if you are a timeshare owner and either choose to not use your allocation or points in a particular year, you still have the annual liability to pay your maintenance fee. If you are feeling the pinch and that long awaited holiday becomes unaffordable, unfortunately, as we have said before, the timeshare developer still wants their pound of flesh. Your problem is not their problem, so pay up.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk