The international pull, offers, and good weather conclude a better Easter week on the Costa del Sol

The pull of international tourism due to the impact of the war in Iran and the good weather, not to forget the last-minute deals ... which have seen rooms sold at better prices during peak days than this same week, have helped improve the results of this first Easter since the inauguration of high-speed rail, in which the Costa del Sol does not have this railway service. The disconnection by train with Madrid, which is the main market for domestic tourists after Andalusia itself, has been resolved by those who have resorted to their private cars to not miss the processional parades and enjoy the first swims in the sea, and by a strong foreign demand. The Association of Hotel Entrepreneurs of the Costa del Sol (Aehcos) reviews this Easter and concludes that from March 27 to April 6, an average occupancy of 82.85% was recorded in the province. They assure that it has "slightly exceeded initial forecasts and confirmed the strength of the destination in one of the key periods of the tourist calendar." They explain that compared to 2025, the data has increased by 2.67 percentage points compared to Easter 2025 (80.18%).

This employers' association asserts that on the days considered "key" during Easter, from April 2 to April 6, the occupancy was 85.26%. "The data reflects a high demand especially concentrated on the main holidays with an increase of 2.04 percentage points compared to 2025 (83.22%)," they detail. Among the various areas analyzed, the destinations with the highest occupancy were Benalmádena, with 90.30%, followed by the Eastern Coast, the Axarquía area, which reached 86.67%; Torremolinos, with 85.85%; Mijas, with 84.90%, and Málaga and Rincón de la Victoria, which reached an occupancy of 84.51%. All of them, with a common denominator: a high international demand, they specify.

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It should be noted that the first report from Aehcos advanced that establishments would fill an average of 73.9% of their rooms from March 27 to April 6. This data contrasts with the 80.18% recorded last year and the 75.98% in 2024, considered the worst in history due to the prominence of rains that prevented the majority of processions from occurring and caused a flood of cancellations by those who planned to enjoy the sun and beaches. For the major days of this Week of Passion, considered the period of highest demand, from April 2 to April 6, hoteliers predicted an occupancy of 78.03%, below the 83.22% registered in 2025 and the 87.81% reached in 2023.

78%

This is the average occupancy for the month of March, five points above the same period

The president of Aehcos, José Luque, states that "the occupancy data from this Easter confirm that the weather has helped the results. The combination of national and international demand has also allowed maintaining satisfactory levels. We are very attentive to how the national market will evolve during April and the following months." However, he assures that "with the spring and summer season in sight, Aehcos remains cautious and attentive to the evolution of the national market, emphasizing the importance of continuing to improve connectivity and recovering the high-speed connection as soon as possible."

In fact, they explain that "one of the most outstanding aspects of this Easter has been the weight of international tourism (77.95%), which has surpassed the national (22.05%), which has shown more contained behavior conditioned by external factors, among them, the situation of railway connectivity, which has reduced the capacity to travel to the destination on key dates."

At Malaga airport, 5,996 flights operated, compared to the 6,040 that did so in the same period in 2025, according to data provided by Aena. Of the landings and takeoffs scheduled by the 51 airlines that currently connect the Costa del Sol with 144 cities around the world, 4,780 corresponded to international flights, compared to the 1,216 with departure or arrival at Spanish airports.

Aehcos has also made a balance of last March and indicates that it has reached an average occupancy of 78.07%, more than five points above the same period in 2025 thanks to the final pull of international tourism during Easter. "An occupancy that has been reinforced by the diversity of the hotel offer and the presence of international tourists that has compensated for the decrease in national demand," they explain from this employers' association.