Hotel prices rose by 1.7pc in March

Joan Collins HOTEL prices rose by an average of 1.7 percent in the Balearics in March, as opposed to the 0.2 percent national average, while income rose by 2.6 percent, 1.2 percent above the national average. Spanish hotels had more that 16.3 million overnight stays in March, which is a fall of one percent compared with the same month in 2005, and hotel prices rose by 0.2 percent according to figures published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) yesterday. They said that in the comparison between this March and last March it was necessary to take into account the fact that Easter fell in March last year and in April this year so it would be better to wait for the April figures and then analyse the two months together to get a more accurate picture. Overnight stays in hotels made by Spanish citizens in March fell by 8.1 percent while those for foreigners rose by 6.4 percent. The occupation figure in March was 49 percent, an interannual fall of 2.1 percent due in part to the rise of 1.4 percent in offers and the effects of the Easter period. During the first three months of the year, the number of overnight stays hardly varied, some 0.04 percent more than in 2005, although overnight stays for residents fell by 1.5 percent, offset by those for foreigners which rose by the same amount. Most overnight stays by Spanish citizens in March were by people from Madrid (22 percent); followed by Andalucia (16.9 percent); Catalonia (14 percent); the Valencia region (9.3 percent); Galicia (5.9 percent); Castilla and Leon (5.2 percent); and the Basque region with 4.9 percent. With regard to foreigners the most overnight stays were made by the Germans with 31.4 percent; followed by citizens of the United Kingdom with 26.7 percent; then Italy with 5 percent; France with 4.8 percent; 3.3 percent from the Netherlands; and 3.1 percent from Belgium. The Spanish had most of their overnight stays during the first three months of the year in Castilla and Leon (24.9 percent); Andalucia (21 percent); the Valencia region (13.2 percent); Catalonia (11.5 percent); Madrid (10.3 percent); the Canaries (6.9 percent); and the Balearics (6.4 percent). Meanwhile foreigners, again during the first three months of the year, had most of their overnight stays in the Canaries (39 percent); Andalucia (16.6 percent); Catalonia (12.9 percent); the Balearics (11.6 percent); and the Valencia region with 8.7 percent. The Canaries, with 69.8 percent, had the highest figure for occupation in March, followed by the Balearics with 57.3 percent, and the Valencia region with 54.2 percent. With regard to hotel prices, these rose most in Castilla-La Mancha (2.7 percent); Aragon (2.1 percent); Extremadura, Galicia and the Basque region (2.2 percent in each). In the Balearics hotel prices rose by 1.7 percent; in Navarra by 1.5 percent; in the Canaries by 1.1 percent; in the Valencia region by 0.8 percent; in Castilla and Leon and in Catalonia by 0.8 percent each; and in Madrid there was no variation. Hotel prices fell most in Cantabria (7 percent); followed by La Rioja with 2.5 percent; Andalucia (2.2 percent; and Asturias (2 percent). In Ceuta hotel prices rose by 3.8 percent and in Melilla they fell by 0.9 percent. Hotel prices rose in March in all categories except the 4 star category, which fell by 0.3 percent in comparison with March 2005. Prices rose most (4.7 percent) in March in hotels in the one star category.