Spanish travel agencies are preparing to experience a record-breaking summer. This has been announced by the Corporate Association of Specialized Travel Agencies (Acave), which estimates a 15% increase in reservations compared to 2022, and with historical prices mainly due to the increase in the cost of flights and inflation. “After two years of containment, traveling has been at the forefront of people’s decisions”, announced the president of Acave, Jordí Martí, as one of the most outstanding results of the survey carried out among the 450 agencies associated with the entity throughout the country, and which represent more than 1,000 points of sale.
The 15% increase means that the reservations for this summer are even above the levels of 2019. And that, roughly speaking, the trips have become more expensive on average between 10% and 15%, according to Martí, mainly due to flights, but also due to the high prices of hotels and increases in restaurants and food. This supposes, in the words of the manager, the “total recovery” of both the issuing and receiving sectors, the latter also with records above the pre-pandemic years.
According to the results of the survey, the national destinations preferred by Spaniards to spend this summer are the Balearic Islands in first place, followed by the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean coast, mainly, Catalonia and Andalusia, and the Atlantic coast. In addition, after the pandemic, interest in urban destinations has been aroused as the most notable fact, among which Madrid stands out for the first time.
The United States tops the list of international destinations, followed by countries in the Middle East, such as Egypt and Jordan. Farther away are Asian destinations such as China, Japan, Thailand or Vietnam. According to Martí, Albania or Bulgaria are some of the most recent destinations that Spaniards are discovering and that are “cheaper” options, as are others such as Morocco and Turkey.
One of the trends that emerges from the survey is greater planning when hiring a trip. Waiting for last-minute offers is in clear decline in favor of booking between one and two months in advance of the travel date. An aspect that also contributes to consolidating the role of agencies as interlocutors when traveling. “In its day, the internet affected us a lot and that people travel on their own, but we have adapted well to the new times. We offer not only added value to the client, but also a reliable interlocutor when there are problems”, added the president of Acave, referring to to airline strikes and increasingly common delays, especially in summer.
75% of tourists this summer will be foreigners and the most important source markets are, according to the survey, France and the United Kingdom. Further away are Germany and Benelux. The number of United States citizens visiting Spain continues to grow and, in trips managed by agencies, they already exceed markets like the latter.
Foreigners will preferably travel to the Catalan and Andalusian coasts, followed by urban destinations such as Barcelona and Madrid and the Balearic and Canary Islands further away.
