ARCHIVED - Spaniards to travel less and spend less this summer due to Covid
Another disappointing summer is on the books for Spain’s tourism sector, as fewer international visitors are expected and those travelling within the country plan to spend much less than in the past.
Three out of ten Spanish citizens intend to stay at home this summer, mostly due to financial or public health reasons, a new study on national tourism habits has found.
The study by Observatur (National Tourism Observatory), the results of which have been published this week, has revealed that 30 per cent of Spaniards who usually go away on holiday in the summer won’t be doing so this year, and most of those who do intend to travel will be spending less than usual and staying within Spain because of the pandemic.
Demand for holidays abroad remains at extremely low levels, with just 24 per cent of travellers daring to venture out of Spain compared to 63 per cent in 2019, and most of them will still be staying somewhere in Europe.
Where transport is concerned, the vast majority of those who will be travelling intend to avoid public transport, with 79 per cent saying they will take their own vehicles.
Moreover, 12 per cent of those with summer holiday plans said they definitely would have chosen different trips if it wasn’t for Covid, and another 38 per cent said they would probably have chosen a different type of holiday or destination.
Money is one of the main reasons survey respondents gave for staying at home. Of those who have decided not to travel, 28 per cent said it was because they had lost income due to the pandemic and another 12 per cent said they would rather save up in case their financial situation worsens.
Those who will be travelling are still intending to tighten their belts, the study found, with the average spending per person forecast this year at 566 euros, compared to 719 per person in 2019.
All of this has led most travel agents to believe that it will take at least one more year, possibly two, for tourism to return to normality.