Spain sees rise in hotel prices as luxury tourism drives demand – £2,900 per night

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Private jet arrivals in Spain rose by 20 percent on pre-pandemic figures with 44,111 flights landing during July, August and September this year. The Balearic Islands have become increasingly popular with rich tourists.

Pablo Carrington, CEO of Marugal, a luxury hotel management firm, told El País the Balearic Islands were a top destination for wealthy tourists.

He said: “This summer has been excellent there. Compared with 2019, occupancy rates and prices have been somewhat higher.”

Rooms in the Marugal group luxury hotels cost between 400 euros (£339) to 3,500 euros (£2,967) a night.

Many of the wealthy international travellers arrive by their own private jet or a rented private plane.

The private flights have primarily landed in Ibiza and Majorca which are both popular Balearic destinations with British tourists.

Malaga and the whole Costa del Sol region have also seen an uptick in private jet arrivals this season.

Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie recently stayed at a luxury villa in the Costa del Sol, which reportedly costs £25,000 a week.

The luxurious villa is thought to be owned by Tory peer and friend, Zac Goldsmith and is a short drive from Benahavis.

Javier Fernández Andrino, director of the international and luxury area at El Corte Inglés, said Marbella had seen a rise in wealthy passengers.

He said: “Marbella is where we’ve seen the most relevant uptick in sales in luxury areas.

“As a matter of fact, the summer season has been extended there, hotel prices have gone up and it’s now a hot destination.”

The resort town of Marbella is popular with celebrities, including Katie Price, Simon Cowell and Tom Jones.

The hotel group, Meliá, owns luxury hotels in the popular hotspots of Marbella and in the Balearic Islands.

Alfonso del Poyo, vice-president of Meliá in Spain, said: “It’s been a very good summer, with double-digit growth of room rates at luxury hotels.”

Natalia Seoane, director general of Hotel de Mar Gran Meliá, added: “In Palma, the luxury sector has been a success.

“Although occupancy rates have not been as high as other years,we’ve managed to offset that with higher average room prices that were 25 percent more expensive than in 2019 due to the extremely high demand for our top rooms and suites.”

The luxury tourism trend has also led to an increase in private yachts with many companies renting out all their boats for weeks at a time.

Luxury yachts were particularly popular in the Balearics and Costa del Sol but have also seen a boom in Croatia and Italy.

The Canary Islands is one Spanish destination that has yet to see an increase in luxury tourism.

Travel experts think this is because the peak season comes later in the year in the Canaries due to the islands’ climate.

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