This is how hotel bookings on the Costa del Sol are due to the high-speed rail disconnection

Eleven days before the start of Holy Week and a day after receiving the setback from Adif that Málaga will not have high-speed train service until early May, hoteliers have begun to assess the impact of this unusual scenario. The losses this situation will generate in the sector are still incalculable, although calculations have already begun. An equation that not only affects the volume of business or the occupancy of facilities, but will directly impact employment. In this regard, they have focused on alerting that hiring will be reduced and the waiting time for fixed-term discontinuous workers to join their jobs will be extended.

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The 'ruin' of not having high-speed rail in Málaga during Holy Week: more than 1.3 billion euros

After expressing great concern about Adif's failure to meet the fourth deadline for the opening of the high-speed line, prolonging mobility difficulties during the peak Holy Week season, they assure that they are updating the losses due to the drop in demand. In this regard, they report that the average drop in bookings in the province has risen to 26%, with April being included in the forecast for a decline in hiring.

However, this cooling varies by area and places the capital as the most affected, with a drop of up to 30%. In contrast, the coast is least affected due to a higher proportion of international tourism. From Aehcos, they note that booking declines at Costa establishments are 18%, while in the interior the drop in demand already exceeds 25%, although the greatest impact is being felt in Málaga city, where "the estimated impact of declines in hotel bookings already exceeds 30%," they explain.

30%

This is the drop that the disconnection of the AVE (high-speed train) is causing in hotel bookings in the capital of the Costa del Sol.

From the association, they emphasize that "maintaining the interruption of high-speed rail service on the eve of Holy Week generates great uncertainty in the tourism sector and is affecting travel planning to the Costa del Sol"; they also insist that "in terms of employment, it will undoubtedly have repercussions as there will be delays in hiring and in the calling of discontinuous workers." This business association remembers that rail connectivity "is a strategic element" for tourism in the province, both for holiday, urban, conference, and business tourism. In this sense, the association stresses the importance of infrastructure returning to normal operational conditions as soon as safety conditions allow. However, they regret that, according to the current schedule, once circulation is restored, it will initially be on a single track and with speed limitations on the affected section. "The complete recovery of the double track could occur over the coming months, while the definitive repair of the infrastructure will likely extend until the end of the year," they emphasize.

Hoteliers urge administrations to maintain constant communication with the tourism sector and with the administrations involved in order to minimize the economic impact that this incident can generate on the tourism activity of the province.