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The strategy of diversification of tourism products is consolidated in the pre- and post-season in Lloret de Mar

More than sixty professionals from the tourism sector in Lloret de Mar took part in the session organised by Lloret Turisme together with Mabrian Technologies to present the tourism analysis data for the year 2023, extracted from the destination’s tourism intelligence and big data platform, as well as to present the 2023 report and the new tourism developments for 2024 for Lloret Turisme.

In addition, part of this session was devoted to presenting the demand profile studies of 5 of the most important markets in the destination, prepared with the aim of providing greater knowledge of each of them in order to establish a more coherent marketing and communication strategy, in relation to the messages to be communicated to each market according to their preferences, to which profiles and at what time of the year. The reports relate to the following markets: Spain, France, Belgium, United Kingdom and Germany.

This platform, whose data in 2023 has been financed through Red.es, is fed by different sources such as: air capacity (Cirium), presence detected through mobile antennas (Orange and Nommon), card spending at destination (Geoblink and Mastercard), opinions and prices on OTAs (Tripadvisor, Expedia, Booking and Airbnb), tourist comments on social networks (Twitter and Instagram), hotel bookings (Hitt) and searches on Google metasearch. Data on tourists and overnight stays provided monthly by the National Statistics Institute (INE) were also used as a source.

The event was welcomed by the Mayor of Lloret, Adrià Lamelas, who stressed that “this information is key to planning the tourism strategy of the destination and its establishments in the short, medium and long term, and to establishing synergies between the public and private sectors on the challenges and opportunities facing our town”.

Lloret de Mar closed 2023 with a total of 1,266,712 travellers, of which 865,335 were international and 401,377 domestic, and 5,339,422 overnight stays, of which 4,184,095 were international and 1,155,327 domestic. Elizabeth Keegan, manager of Lloret Turisme, stressed that “in 2023 the tourism figures for 2022 were surpassed, reaching figures close to those of 2019 and with good pre- and post-season data that show that the strategy of specialising in tourism products that complement the sun and beach is consolidating and positioning the destination in segments such as couples or families with a value proposition for audiences outside the summer season”.

 

10 MAIN CONCLUSIONS ON THE TOURISM YEAR 2023

 

  1. The tourism indicators of figures indicate a good 2023 for the tourism sector, better than 2022 and close to 2019.

 

  • The domestic market remains loyal to Lloret de Mar after the pandemic, with a 20% increase in domestic travellers compared to 2019 (407,921 travellers in 2023 compared to 338,168 in 2019), which translates into a 10% increase in domestic overnight stays compared to 2019 (1,165,618 in 2023 compared to 1,049,635 in 2019).
  • Among the national public, the Catalan public clearly stands out, accounting for 80% of travellers and 70% of total overnight stays in the Spanish market, and also improving on its figures for 2022.
  • In terms of international markets, Lloret de Mar maintained its average length of stay, although it did not reach the figures for 2019 (12% fewer overnight stays). However, compared to 2022, the growth is 21%.
  • Lloret de Mar is, after Benidorm, the destination with the best occupancy rates in the different seasons (pre-season 52%, season 72% and post-season 62%).

 

  1. The interest of strategic markets in Lloret is maintained and others that had been held back by the restrictions of the pandemic are growing, compensating for the loss of tourists from eastern countries.

 

  • The domestic market is growing in interest in the pre- and post-season months, with levels increasing year on year.
  • In the case of Germany, the search intensity has increased compared to 2019.
  • UK traveller interest has grown in 2023, even surpassing 2019 rates in some months.
  • In France, the months of April and May are growing in interest, with similar figures to 2022. French searches come mainly from Languedoc-Roussillon.

 

  1. The deseasonalisation strategy is bearing fruit, with the pre- and post-season becoming increasingly important in the tourist year.

 

  • In 2019 the weight of total visitors was 21% in pre-season, 56% in season and 23% in post-season, whereas in 2023 it was 25% in pre-season, 47% in season and 29% in post-season.

 

  1. Nature activities, sport and culture are consolidated in Lloret de Mar’s value proposition.

 

 

  1. The destination is making positive progress in satisfaction and perception indicators with the renovation of the hotel plant.

 

  • The level of satisfaction of the refurbished hotel plant stands at 77 points and maintains an upward trend over the years.
  • The price level, especially in the 4-star category, is increased by 10%, an even higher % in the case of renovated hotels.

 

  1. The average length of stay is maintained.

 

  • Germany with an average stay of 5.8 days, Belgium with an average stay of 5.7 days, the Netherlands with 5.6 days and the United Kingdom with 5.5 days are the most interesting markets in this area.

 

  1. Air capacity was a constraint for 2023, 2024 forecasts are more favourable.

 

  • Overall air capacity at Girona-Costa Brava airport was 19% lower than in 2019.
  • Forecasts for 2024 are optimistic with air schedules 45% higher than in 2019 for all months.

 

  1. Average card spending indicators show a downward trend.

 

  • Markets such as Germany and the UK, which are more susceptible to tour-operations, show slight decreases in this indicator.

 

  1. In some markets, it is possible to sense an increase in visits from segments of the public that are less interesting for the destination.

 

  1. It is recommended to focus efforts on markets that bring greater value to the destination.

 

  • Based on 12 variables relating to profile, expenditure, seasonality, accommodation, interests, weight and segment, the most potentially interesting markets for the destination are identified, such as Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain and France.

Lloret de Mar to increase sports tourism by 27.4% in 2023 compared to 2022

A total of 82,975 people related to sports tourism visited Lloret de Mar‘s sports facilities in 2023. This figure represents an increase of 27.4% compared to 2022, of which 45,922 were athletes (34%+) and 37,053 accompanying persons (23%+).

These figures were presented at the annual sports tourism round table organised by Lloret Turisme, which is made up of twenty accommodation establishments and two incoming agencies, all of which have been awarded the Catalan Tourist Board’s Sports Tourism Destination Certificate (DTE). This year, the Acapulco 4* Hotel, the Helios 4*S Hotel and El Trull Accommodation have also joined the group.

A total of 424 sports activities took place in Lloret in 2023, 80% of which were training camps. The data shows that the sports tourism season is getting longer; traditionally it has been held in March (4,037 sportsmen and women), April (11,552 sportsmen and women) and May (3,585 sportsmen and women), but in 2023 there were also very good figures in June (9,613 sportsmen and women) and July (5,977 sportsmen and women).

In terms of the number of participants, the most important sports are football with 14,301, basketball with 6,923 and athletics with 6,923. And in terms of the number of activities per nationality, France (77), Sweden (70), Catalonia (50) and the United Kingdom (26) stand out. These nationalities vary according to the sporting discipline: in athletics, France is in first place (19), followed by Catalonia (19) and Belgium (6); in football, Sweden (38), Switzerland (17) and Norway (14); in swimming, France (24), Germany (10) and Catalonia (5); in triathlon, France (22), Belgium (3) and Sweden (2); and finally, in cycling, France is in first place, followed by Belgium and the Netherlands.

The manager of Lloret Turisme, Elizabeth Keegan, explained that “these good figures are the result of the joint efforts of the public and private sectors, which work proactively to attract sports tourism through a series of promotional activities throughout the year, while also offering personalised attention once visitors are at the destination and maintaining constant contact, which contributes to the high level of loyalty that Lloret de Mar enjoys”. In this sense, Lloret Turisme is currently participating in the third edition of the Sports&Events Workshop in Calvià, a professional meeting that brings together more than a hundred operators from all over Europe specialised in sports tourism, where the Lloret team will conduct a total of twenty-four interviews. The Lloret companies L’Azure Hotel and Evenia Hotels will also participate. Last October, Lloret de Mar hosted the second edition of this benchmark event in the sports tourism sector. Following this, Lloret Turisme will also participate in a benchmark on cycle tourism organised by the Catalan Tourist Board and Cycling Friendly in Mallorca, with the aim of learning about the best practices of a benchmark destination in this field such as this island.

Lloret de Mar has been certified as a Sports Tourism Destination by the Catalan Tourist Board since 2006 and is the destination in Catalonia with the most certified sports (football, athletics, team sports, cycling, swimming and triathlon).

LLORET DE MAR’S TOURIST OFFICES ASSISTED MORE THAN 100,000 PEOPLE IN 2016

The tourist offices of Lloret de Mar assisted a total of 101,145 people in 2016, representing an increase of 14.6% in respect of 2015, when a total of 88,256 visitors were assisted. This figure includes face-to-face visits at the offices and email or postal mail queries.

As far as the offices are concerned, almost half the queries were made at the centrally located office of the Maritime Museum (47%), 31% were made at the office located in the bus station (almost all the questions were about transport timetables), 17% were made at the central office on Avinguda de les Alegries and 5% were made at the information point on Fenals Beach, which is open in July and August.

As for nationalities, French and Spanish visitors made more face-to-face information requests than any other nationality with 31,403 and 27,535 assisted visitors, respectively. On a Spanish regional level, a significant number of queries were made by visitors from Catalonia, Andalusia and the Basque Country.

In terms of visitor profiles, the highest number of queries was made by the senior bracket with 39.4%, followed by adults with 28.3%, families with 15.6%, young people with 8% and couples with 5.3%.

This increase in assisted visitors was also reflected in the number of queries made through the tourism website of Lloret de Mar, www.lloretdemar.org. The site received 731,793 visits in 2016, an increase of more than 27,000 visits in respect of the previous year.

According to Elizabeth Keegan, Director of Lloret Turisme, “This year we’ve seen an increase in the number of face-to-face visits to tourist offices, reversing the downward trend of recent years. We’ve noted that visitors in the younger age bracket are those who visit our offices the least, since they’re typically more adept at using new technologies and searching for information online. According to our figures, more than 49% of the visits to the website are made with mobile devices. That’s why we’ll be working on a new website in 2017 that will be accessible from all devices, and with a fresher, more modern image.”

Lloret Turisme is the organisation entrusted with running the tourist offices of Lloret de Mar. The destination has three offices that are open all year round (the central office located at the entrance to the city, one in the Maritime Museum and one at the bus station) and a tourist information point at Fenals Beach that is open in July and August.

Lloret de mar ends 2016 with 1,288,098 visitors and 5,884,557 overnight stays

Lloret de Mar ended 2016 with 1,288,098 visitors and 5,884,557 overnight stays. These figures, provided by National Statistics Institute (INE), are for the total number of visitors and overnight stays in hotels, holiday apartments and campsites over the course of the year. These figures do not include the occupancy of the 2,616 private dwellings in the town registered for tourist use, with an estimated total capacity of 15,860 bed places, since it has not yet been possible to establish a data collection system for this type of accommodation.

Of the total number of visitors registered by the INE, 93.6% stayed in hotels, 4.2% in holiday apartments and 2.2% on campsites.

Hotel occupancy

As regards hotel occupancy, Lloret de Mar welcomed 1,205,495 visitors in 2016, who amassed a total of 5,502,421 overnight stays. These figures represent an increase of 7.7% and 7.6%, respectively, in respect of 2015. The importance of international visitors to Lloret de Mar is worth highlighting, given that 66% of hotel guests came from outside Spain.

In respect of nationalities, 2016 saw an unchanged top five in the ranking of outbound markets: Spain, with 413,134 visitors (323,227 from Catalonia and 89,907 from the rest of Spain), France, with 255,674 visitors, the UK, with 93,271 visitors, Germany, with 90,845 visitors, and Belgium, with 52,972 visitors.

The growth registered in 2016 was distributed positively in all the main markets except Poland, which was the eighth most important outbound market in 2016, falling from sixth position in 2015 with a reduction of 9.7%. Among the markets that showed growth in 2016 were Russia, seventh in the ranking of outbound countries with 43,843 visitors and an increase of 19%; Italy, in sixth position with 49,155 visitors and an increase of 31.7%; and the Netherlands, in ninth position with 29,415 visitors and an increase of 49%.

Holiday apartments and campsites

This is the first year for which the data of holiday apartments and campsites has also been incorporated in the results. Data for these types of accommodation is only available for periods when it is significant and according to the length of their respective seasons, which are shorter than the hotel season.

In total, holiday apartments welcomed 54,778 visitors between April and October, generating 260,091 overnight stays. The leading countries in terms of visitors who chose this type of accommodation were France, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

Campsites welcomed 27,825 visitors in 2016, generating 122,045 overnight stays. Visitors were mainly from Spain, France, the Netherlands and Germany.

It’s worth noting that the Netherlands, in third position, is one of the leading markets in this type of accommodation, far higher up than the ninth position it occupies in the ranking of outbound markets for the hotel sector.

Other data of interest

As far as RevPAR (revenue per available room) is concerned, the last five years have seen an upward trend, rising from €11.79 to €18.01 in low season (January) and from €61.60 to €77.03 in high season (August).

The average length of stay in hotels was 4.2 days in 2016, an increase on the 3.8 days of 2015.

According to Jaume Dulsat, Mayor of Lloret de Mar, “We’ve closed 2016 with some very positive figures, exceeding 1,200,000 visitors and 5.5 million overnight stays in hotels, continuing the upward trend of recent years. It’s worth highlighting the upturn in the Russian market, which has reversed its downward trend of recent years thanks to growth of 19%, and the importance of our national market, especially Catalonia, which we have to look after since it’s one of the key markets for increasing year-round tourism.”