Madrid and Barcelona have resumed tourism activities. Hotel bookings in the two cities have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to data released last week by the World Hotel Index SiteMinder.
In particular, from the beginning of the year until October 24, demand in hotels in the Spanish capital increased to 102% compared to the same period in 2019, before the pandemic broke out.
According to SiteMinder, the data reflects the consolidation of hotel recovery in Spain outside the coastal sun cities and beaches, which recorded a large influx of tourists in the summer, and coincides with the resumption of the offer of urban activities across the country. In this sense, the growth in hotel bookings in Madrid and Barcelona is also higher than in other major European capitals such as Paris, with a 93.4% increase in bookings compared to 2019, London (91.9%), Amsterdam ( 81.4%) and Berlin (74.3%). %).
The numbers also show that Spain is one of the main drivers of travel recovery in Europe after the pandemic, with hotel bookings hitting 111% in summer compared to summer 2019, while the global average for the same category is 80.9%. In addition, research shows that international tourism will also continue to recover after surpassing domestic tourism for the first time since the start of the pandemic in the last month.
Tourism in Germany is also on the road to recovery
Another tour destination that is clearly recovering is Germany. The data shows that across 400 hotel booking channels worldwide, the share of German hotel bookings made in October 2021 was 30.8%. In Germany, this proportion has reached pandemic levels.
Air travel stagnates
Global passenger demand in September was 53% lower than in the same month of the year before the pandemic (2019), although the decline was less than in August, thanks to a rebound in domestic markets such as China, as reported by the International Air Transport Association. (IATA). During August, demand was 56% lower than in the same month in the fiscal year prior to Covid-19.
In domestic markets, the impact of the pandemic has weakened: demand in September was 24.3% lower than in the same month of 2019, while in August the decline was 32.6%. For example, demand in Russia was significantly higher than in September 2019 (up 29.3%), although it remains below pandemic levels in other major markets. Regionally, demand was 69% lower in the Asia-Pacific region compared to the same month of 2019, while in Europe the decline was 50.3%, in North America by 30% and in Latin America by 39%.