Summer is forecast to be quieter than expected as bookings have slowed right down

The desire to travel and the reduction in savings that people had at the end of the pandemic, alongside the increases in interest rates and inflation seem to be affecting bookings for holidays this summer in the Canary Islands.

Even though summer bookings in the first few months of the year were good, surprisingly they have stagnated, as reported by various hotel chains that operate on the islands and the presidents of the two tourist accommodation associations, Jorge Marichal (Ashotel) and José María Manaricua (FEHT).

This reduction is in both the national and European markets and it’s not ruled that figures will improve with last minute bookings, but as of today they are lower than expected with occupancy for July below 70%.

“Hotel groups and accommodation providers are going to have to offer a rate reduction to attract demand”, they said, highlighting that prices have skyrocketed amid increasing demand. But now that it is cooling off is it time to lower prices? Industry sources point out that several chains already have offers to increase their occupancy.

FEHT: “Summer will be good but not exceptional"
The president of FEHT, José María Mañaricua, says that this summer will be good on the islands, but won’t be as exceptional as expected in light of this stagnation in bookings.

In his opinion, in addition to the fact that people's savings have gone down there are other factors that are influencing it, such as the situation in Germany because the country has entered a technical recession, after having decreased its GDP for two quarters in a row. He believes that, like in the pandemic, residents of the islands will be the key to achieving good occupancy figures on the islands.

However, Mañaricua points out that the situation is different on each island. So far this year Tenerife has received 8% more tourists than in 2019; Lanzarote and Fuerteventura 4% more, but Gran Canaria is 2% less.

With summer around the corner, Ashotel have confirmed that there are only bookings for 69% occupancy so far for July and August in Tenerife. Among their associations, 39% believe that they will have better occupancy this summer than in 2019, 32% believe it will be lower, and the rest (29%) don’t know.