Benidorm Tourism: Good Year, Bad Year

the best year

As 2011 closes it's been a comparatively good year for some involved in the town's tourist industry and a bad one for others. Hotel owners are saying that it's been the best year for them since the economic crisis and recession struck a few years ago. They've seen good occupancy rates due to the good image of the town and lots of special offers, their main caveat to this is that profits are low.

It's a different story in other sectors of the industry where 2011 has been described as a black year. Apartments in Benidorm are nowhere near full, restaurants and bars are having a hard time, and shopkeepers just don't have enough custom.

The general opinion is that the hotels, with their all inclusive regimes, in house entertainment and possibly even casinos in the near future, are attracting a 'captive' audience to Benidorm like many hotels in the Caribbean (where there really is nothing outside) do.

The worry is that this process becomes a vicious circle where, as restaurants, bars and shops close through lack of trade, more and more people take up the all inclusive accommodation option.

Let's hope the situation improves in 2012 and the right balance is achieved for everybody.

12 December 2011 Stephen White.