Palma is the most expensive but busy

Average room rates this month in the Majorcan capital are 133 euros per night, much higher than Madrid, for example, where average room rates are 99 euros per night.

Over the course of the year,  average room rates across Spain have risen by three percent, although in some regions rates have actually declined slightly while in others, the more popular destinations like the Balearics and the Canary Islands, they have risen sharply.

Steep
In the city of Caceres, for example, the increase has been as steep as 30 percent and 18 percent in Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands.

And, compared to last month, room rates in the Balearics have been hiked by 12 percent, while  in Valencia and Catalonia,  month-on-month rates have fallen by four and three percent respectively.

However, the high prices in Palma do not appear to be turning people away.

The Palma Hotel Association said yesterday that hotel occupancy over Christmas in going to be around 70 percent.
The figure is similar to last year but the president of the association, Javier Vich, said that more hotels are open this year.

“What we are also noticing is that there has been a sharp increase in the number of residents booking hotels for New Year,” he added.

But, last week’s Bank Holiday was not a great success.

According to Vich the main problem was the price of air fares which were 60 percent higher than usual.