Spanish hoteliers are shrugging off the threat to summer occupancy because of the war in Ukraine which triggered a European Union-wide ban on flights from Russia despite what had been growing numbers of free-spending Russian guests, arguing that the situation could benefit Spain as an alternative destination to competitors closer to the conflict.
When the European Union flight ban was announced just days after the war broke out hoteliers and the government were concerned, with the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism saying it would redouble promotional efforts to tap into alternative markets.
“Pending the evolution of the war and its impact on tourist flows in the coming months, the government is working on finding alternatives to a possible absence of Russian tourists this season in our destinations most exposed to this market,” a ministry statement said.
But that initial unease has now largely receded.
“Our hotels will certainly be impacted by the flight prohibitions and drop in Russian visitors but I don’t think it will be catastrophic,” said Manal Casals, the general manager of the Gremi d’Hotels de Barcelona, or Barcelona Hotel Association.
“We’ll just have to look for other sources of guests,” he added.
Russian Growth
Barcelona is the capital of the northeastern region of Catalonia where the cities and beaches have long been favorite playgrounds for Russians, especially those with deep pockets.
A decade ago, luxury hotels in Spain with a high percentage of Russian guests stocked their bars with premium vodkas, offered restaurant menus in the Cyrillic alphabet and staffed their reception desks and kids’ clubs with Russian speakers.
According to Spanish government statistics, Russian travel was increasing every year. But starting in 2014 when Western sanctions against Moscow were imposed because of its annexation of Crimea and the resulting fall in the value of the ruble, visitor numbers plunged.
The numbers began to bounce back in 2016 and were well on their way to recovery in 2019 when 1.8 million Russians spent their holidays in Spain, a 7 per cent rise over 2018. But then Covid-19 hit the travel industry.
Once Spain lifted most pandemic restrictions on travel and only those visitors who were vaccinated allowed into the country, Russians still faced hurdles as most of them had received the Sputnik vaccine which is unrecognized by European Union member states.
Even though their numbers were small in comparison to Britons, Germans and other northern European visitors, the Russians are valued by Spanish hoteliers as big spenders, Casals said.
“They enjoy our luxury services and goods and really like the higher-end beach resorts along the Costa Brava north of Barcelona and the Costa Dorada to the south.”
The Valencia region, the Balearic Islands and Andalusia are also popular with Russians who according to government data in 2019 spent a daily average of 175 euros per person, much more than 140-euro average spend of British, German and Scandinavian visitors.
At the same time, Russians, 83 per cent of whom book hotels in Spain, averaged a stay of 14.3 nights, compared to the European average of 8.6 nights.
Other Markets
Industry sources noted Spain’s biggest competitors in the eastern Mediterranean - Turkey, Egypt and Greece - are also popular with Russians and hoteliers in these destinations could slash prices for northern European visitors who traditionally holiday in Spain to fill up all those now empty rooms.
“We ourselves will have to compensate for the shortfall in Russian guests through other markets,” said Ramón Estalella, Secretary General the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourism Accommodations (CEHAT).
He noted that in times of recent political or economic crises affecting its competitors to the east which frightened away visitors, Spain served as what he described as a “refuge destination.”
“Turkey and Greece have a very good tourism offer but it’s not just a question of price. It’s also a question of safety and Spain is a very safe destination and far from the fighting,” Estalella said
Casals of the Barcelona Hotel Association echoed that sentiment, arguing that Spain would benefit from its geographical location.
“Turkey and Greece are close to the war zone and we could see the Britons and other northern Europeans who usually take their holidays in those countries come here instead,” he said.
This prediction appears to be borne out by data compiled by Mabrian, a Spain-based travel data research company.
It looked at the evolution of demand from Britain, one of the main European outbound markets and Spain’s largest generator of visitors, analyzing data for online searches for flights to Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Greece.
Online searches to these four countries fell sharply overall in the days after the war broke out by between 30 and 40 per cent. However, search volumes for Spain and Portugal recovered within five to six days, while Turkey and Greece had not recovered volumes 13 days later.
Data broken down into searches before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and those after the invasion found that British demand after the war began grew by 13 per cent for Portugal and by almost 13 per cent for Spain, while it fell 10 per cent and 8 per cent for Turkey and Greece, respectively.
Hotel prices for the upcoming Easter Week holiday also reflected foreign traveller’s preference for Spain and Portugal, according to data gathered by the company comparing prices this year with those of pre-Covid 2019.
Average prices of hotel stays in Spain and Portugal grew for the Easter period in all categories while prices fell in Turkey for 3 and 4-star hotels, the category most popular with Russians.
In Greece the average room price in the 3-star category fell while prices rose for 4 and 5-star accommodation.
“This data shows that it’s clear that because of the war, the eastern Mediterranean is losing out to the western Mediterranean in the preference for where people want to spend their Easter holidays,” said Carlos Cendra, the data firm’s chief marketing officer and partner.