Which Tourists Stay in Tourist Apartments, When and Where #DATAESTUR

13-04-2023

Which Tourists Stay in Tourist Apartments, When and Where

Analysis based on the 2022 data from the tourist occupancy survey (tourist apartments) by the National Statistics Institute (INE)

The most common profile of guests at tourist apartments in Spain is that of foreign tourists who travel mainly between April and October (even more frequently in the summer months, which account for around half of the overnight stays of the entire year), whose main destination is the Canary Islands, and whose average stay exceeds five nights. In fact, the average stay in tourist apartments is the highest average of all accommodation: 5.39 nights, with peaks above 6 nights in January and August. The highest average stays are in the Mediterranean regions (with the exception of the Canary Islands)

In number of travellers, foreign tourists account for around 56%. However, their average stay is longer and, therefore, their overnight stays are more than double those of Spanish residents (just over 45 million compared to almost 22 million). Overnight stays in tourist apartments by foreigners in the Canary Islands, which exceed 20 million, are much higher than those in the next destinations in the ranking (Balearic Islands, with 6.8 million; Region of Valencia, with 6 million; and Andalusia, with 5.4 million). The United Kingdom is the main market of origin and accounts for a third of the overnight stays of foreigners in tourist apartments. The second market is Germany, with around 5.5 million overnight stays (almost three times less than the British).

For Spanish residents, the main destination by number of overnight stays is the Region of Valencia (5 million), followed by Andalusia (almost 4.5 million). The Canary Islands are the third destination, with around 3 million overnight stays. Regarding these resident travellers, it is striking that more than 60% of those who stay in apartments in the Canary Islands and Catalonia are from those regions, and that travellers from the Region of Madrid are in the highest number in Castile and Leon, the Region of Valencia, Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura, the Balearic Islands and Cantabria and rank behind local tourists in only five other destinations.

TOURIST APARTMENTS VERSUS TOTAL ACCOMMODATION IN 2022

Tourist apartments are the choice of tourists with longer average stays (5.39 nights). This figure is only surpassed by hotels in total number of overnight stays. These represent 15% of tourist overnight stays in hotels, apartments, rural tourism accommodation, campsites and hostels.

The Canary Islands (with around 27% of overnight stays in tourist apartments) are the autonomous region with the highest percentage. Interestingly, on the islands practically all stays are split between hotels and apartments. The Region of Valencia is the only other region where overnight stays in tourist apartments exceed 20% of all types of accommodation. The lowest representation is found in Castile and Leon, Galicia and Asturias, where they barely account for 5% of overnight stays.