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Professionals in the sector are cautious to anticipate occupancy figures, as a result of the change in the paradigms of hiring travelers but await a summer similar to last year, in terms of passengers and occupation

Increasingly, they are betting on setting more targets for profitability and average traveller expenditure, figures in which there is still room for improvement.

The change in the paradigm of tourism marketing makes it increasingly complex to raise occupancy forecasts by the Galician tourism sector as a whole that sees as the weather factor is added to the increasingly usual last-minute reserves, which makes it more complex to successfully venture occupation forecasts for the whole of the summer season. Last minute offers and climatology make the establishments have to have a greater ability to respond to a situation so marked by the last minute, in addition to making the forecasts of occupation more complicated.

So the estimates of the sector are marked by prudence but move in the good sensations and work with an initial forecast of 60% average occupancy throughout the Galician territory, somewhat higher for weekends, and with the aim of having a summer with figures similar to those of last year, which could improve if the July weather is benevolent. June and July 2018 were somewhat weak in reserves that recovered in the month of August to mark high occupancy rates, between 80 and 90% in the main points of tourist attraction, which gave us as a final balance that Galicia received 1.4 million visitors who made more than 3.7 million overnight stays. A good balance if we analyze it in the historical of the last five years, although somewhat less than the record year of 2017, which makes us think that we are at the beginning of a phase of consolidation of the occupation figures achieved.

The weather conditions will be decisive in the final results and it should even be borne in mind that the fact of not achieving maximum temperatures and maintain more moderate temperatures, comes to play in favor of the choice of Galicia as a tourist destination in a large number of travelers.

Average forecast and by points of tourist interest

The average occupancy rate, which is estimated at 60% in the territory as a whole and the months of July and August will be increased in tourist points with greater influx of travelers, such as the Atlantic strip and cities, especially as the season progresses and especially from the second half of July and August, which continues to mark the best occupancy figures, with averages above 80%.

In the case of A Coruña the hotel sector places its average forecast for the whole summer season around 78%, lower in July, around 70% and with a foreseeable upturn in August, which would allow them to be around 80% occupancy. In Compostela, the forecasts are similar to last year, around 80%, with significant differences in occupancy between July and August, although it is foreseeable that the figures will improve from the second half of July, in which the Galician capital affront their holidays and holiday of July 25.

In the province of Pontevedra for July and August Tourism Rías Baixas predicts an average occupancy of 68%: 63% in July and 72% in August. They are prudent forecasts because the sector believes that from July will move 40% of reserves so the data could improve considerably. We look more retail in some of the tourist destinations in the province, in the case of Vigo, the sector works with a forecast of around 70 to 75% in July, hoping that events such as festivals as Marisquiño or Seafest or the championship handball sports of late July mark good results of occupation to the city that will improve for the month of August, reaching about 90%.

In the specific case of Sanxenxo, the forecasts handled by the sector are at 65% for the month of July that will reach 92% in August while we speak of rural tourism in the province of Pontevedra, the figures will revolve around the average, 60% in July and around 75% in August.

In the case of Lugo and Ourense the percentages of occupation vary considerably between the set of the province and the cities or points of tourist affluence, like the Marina Lucense or the Ribeira Sacra, that foreseeably will return to mark very good indexes of occupation surpassing very possibly 80% while in the set of the province, the occupation falls practically to the half, remaining around 40%.

However, the expectations of the sector want to look beyond the number of travellers and spend the night to continue improving in average stay and average expenditure per traveller, which are the workhorses of the sector, and which will allow them to continue improving in profitability, one of the objectives with which the sector as a whole works. In this sense, there is still room for improvement and price recovery in the fares of travelers, betting on a segmented and quality tourism, which seeks added value to their travel experiences, without forgetting the internationalization that allows to continue advancing in the percentage of foreign travelers who choose Galicia as a destination, since in summer the largest percentage of travelers that we receive continues to be domestic and national market.