The Girona district has received a total of 7.1 million tourists until the end of September, 1% less than a year ago. However, overnight stays have grown by around 2% and the figure of 24.4 million has been exceeded.
These are data that the president of the Costa Brava-Girona Tourism Board, Miquel Noguer, announced this morning, who described the campaign as “good” despite the slight drop in the number of visitors.
The spending generated by visitors has also grown significantly in the last financial year. The European tourist has spent, on average, 227 euros per person per day (23 more than a year ago) and the state tourist, an average of 102 euros per day (12 more than in 2022).
Regarding the origin of tourists who have visited the Costa Brava and the Girona Pyrenees, Catalonia continues to be the main market with more than 8.7 million overnight stays. The French market follows with 4.4 million, the majority foreign group due to its proximity.
Even so, the data for 2019, 2022 and 2023 reflect a decline in tourists of this nationality. If before the pandemic, the region received 4.7 million French tourists, this 2023, with the year still to end, the figure is around 4.4 million.
A fact that does not worry the Tourist Board too much, which attributes the decline to the economic and financial situation in France, to the economic recession that affects the French market. “Rather than thinking that the Frenchman has opted for other destinations, we believe that the problem is that he has fewer resources to travel,” Noguer justified.
On the contrary, the German market has recovered – after opting in recent years for other destinations such as Greece, Turkey or Croatia -, the Belgian and the British, thanks to the recovery of tour operations after Covid.
Visitors from the United States and Canada have grown in percentage numbers by 33%. Until the end of September, a total of 199,858 Americans had visited the district, 50,000 more than a year ago. Noguer attributes this to the recovery of flights from Barcelona airport.
The vice president of the Patronat de Turisme, Jordi Masquef, explains that, compared to 2019, which was already a “very satisfactory” year for the tourism sector, both the number of arrivals and overnight stays has grown by 5%.
In the Pyrenees, especially in the summer months, the end effect of Covid has been noticed. If during 2022, many still chose to take local vacations, this year they have preferred other destinations.
Rural tourism, which was almost full in August, and between the end of June and July reached records of up to 85%, experienced one of its best Septembers this year. The president of Turisme Rural de Girona, Ramon Corominas, explains that, unlike other years, this September they have also been able to work during the week and not only on weekends.
Corominas emphasizes that for weekends, long weekends and Christmas holidays there is already an occupancy of between 60% and 70% and 100% for the end of the year.
The camping sector has also described the year as “very good”, thanks to the excellent weather that has allowed some accommodations to reach occupancy of up to 80% in the month of September. The forecast, as explained this morning by Josep Maria Pla, president of the Girona Camping Association, is to reach ten million overnight stays by the end of the year.
Hotels also close the season with a good taste in their mouths, although the vice president of the Federació d’Hostaleria de Girona, Enric Dotras, has acknowledged that the forecasts for the central summer months (July and August) have fallen somewhat short. than they anticipated in spring.
Tourist apartments have also closed the months from June to August with figures somewhat lower than last year, a slight decrease that has been offset by a still good start to autumn, thanks to the weather. “Climate change in this sense is favoring us,” acknowledges its president, Ester Torrent. Overnight stays in this type of accommodation range between six and eight days.
The person in charge of the tourist apartments has criticized the decree prepared by the Generalitat that contemplates that active licenses can expire within a period of five years. “This creates legal uncertainty,” she explains and asks the administration for a meeting to discuss the issue.
Finally, the president of the Corporate Association of Specialized Travel Agencies (ACAVE), Jordi Martí, affirms that this year has been the year of return to “normality” and that the associates hope to close December with an increase in sales of 20% . The prospects for 2024 are good, according to Martí. “We will return to the demand of 2019,” he predicts.
After a year with declining records, the Girona airport will close this 2023 with data higher than that of 2022. Until the month of September, a total of 1,332,000 travelers had passed through the Vilobí d’Onyar facilities, 17% more than in 2022.
The president of the Patronat de Turisme, Miquel Noguer, is convinced that the year will close with a figure of between 1.5 and 1.6 million passengers.
This will be helped by the 42 weekly operations and the nine planned destinations, currently planned, for the winter season, which will start at the end of this month. The long-term prospects are even better. Noguer predicts that 2024 could close with around two million passengers thanks to the growth of tour operations and possible new airline companies that may settle in Vilobí d’Onyar.
