Bookings for holiday homes on the Spanish coast for August have already reached 74%

At the end of May, 74% of holiday homes located less than 15 kilometres from a beach were already booked for August, while at this time last year, the forecast for August 2022 was 80%. This is according to a study by Rentalia, idealista's holiday platform, which analysed the availability calendars of apartments and holiday homes on the coasts of Spanish provinces and islands.

Castellón is the destination where bookings for beachfront properties have risen the most in one year, going from an occupancy rate of 63% last year to 72% this year. Following is the coast of Lanzarote (from 76% to 85%), the coast of Cantabria (from 68% to 72%), the coast of Almeria (from 74% to 77%), the coast of Pontevedra (from 72% to 74%) and the coast of A Coruña (from 69% to 71%), while the coast of Majorca remains stable at 97%, as does Asturias (74%).

The rest of the coasts analysed in Rentalia's study have fewer bookings than a year ago. Occupancy levels fell most on the Tarragona coast, from 86% to 67%. Following is the coast of Girona (from 86% to 73%), the coast of Alicante (from 87% to 76%), the coast of Malaga (from 88% to 80%), the coast of Huelva (from 50% to 43%), the coast of Cadiz (from 80% to 74%) and the coast of Tenerife (from 67% to 63%).

The smallest drops in bookings were seen on the coast of Menorca, from 88% to 84%, followed by the coast of Murcia (from 73% to 71%), the coast of Barcelona (from 75% to 72%) and the coast of Valencia (from 77% to 75%).

According to Almudena Ucha, Director of Rentalia, "the decline in booking forecasts is due to a mismatch between when travellers made their holiday decisions last year and this year. Summer 2022 was the first summer without restrictions after two years of pandemic and most bookings were made during the first five months of the year.

"This year," adds Rentalia's director, "booking forecasts are conditioned by unstable weather conditions that will be with us until the end of spring and will also be affected by the general elections that will take place at the end of July. Both factors are delaying decisions on holiday destinations, so in the coming weeks, we will see the occupancy level of holiday homes on the coast rise because of all the last-minute bookings".

The coasts with the highest occupancy levels for August

Ninety-seven per cent of holiday homes located within 15 kilometres of a beach on the island of Mallorca are already booked for August. Following is the coast of Lanzarote with an occupancy rate of 85%, Menorca (84%), Malaga (80%), Almeria (77%), Alicante (76%), Valencia (75%), Pontevedra (74%) and Asturias (74%).

Slightly below the national average are the occupancy levels of holiday homes on the coast of Cadiz (74%), followed by Girona (73%), Barcelona (72%), Castellón (72%), Cantabria (72%), A Coruña (71%) and the Region of Murcia (71%).

Travellers looking for a holiday home close to the beach for August will find greater availability in those destinations with a lower occupancy level, such as Huelva (43%), Tenerife (63%) and Tarragona (67%).

Some provincial markets and certain islands have not been included in the study because there is not enough of a stable sample to ensure the statistical validity of the data.