Monday, October 19, 2020
Benidorm’s hotel industry sees a huge dip in post COVID-19 time. Now just 17 of Benidorm’s hotels out of 140 are to remain open as the tourism industry is destroyed by the UK quarantine restriction. The popular holiday hotspot relies on British tourists, who have deserted the resort.
Benidorm is still pressing for a safe air corridor to be set up between Alicante airport and the United Kingdom, asking to be considered as a “bubble island” despite being on the mainland.
But after holding out for two bank holidays in October, Benidorm hoteliers say they now have no choice but to close their doors. There are around 140 hotels in the resort but only 29 were open for the fiestas which brought around 46,000 people to the beaches which are still divided up into plots.
The tourist chiefs say that thanks to holidaymakers travelling from all parts of Spain to Benidorm for the bank holiday breaks, occupancy reached 70 per cent, the highest rate since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Forecasts predict this level will now plunge back to 37 per cent and even lower in tourist apartments though campsites remain very popular.
Because of the lack of Brits, Benidorm council says of the 29 hotels left open, 12 plan to temporarily close their doors over the next few days.
Toni Mayor, president of the hotel association, Hosbec said that they are sure that if the air corridors recover, the perspective of our tourism would be very different. There are more hotel openings, more employment, plus the spin-off effect for the entire auxiliary tourism industry.
Manager of Visit Benidorm, Leire Bilbao said if the safe air route was approved, coronavirus tests would be offered in place of quarantine as part of the “bubble” and Benidorm would become the only island on the mainland operating for the British market over the winter.
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Friday, April 19, 2024
Friday, April 19, 2024
Friday, April 19, 2024
Thursday, April 18, 2024
