Alex Trelinski
TOURISTS tightening up spending and heatwaves are two of the reasons why bars and restaurants in the Valencia area say turnover is down by as much as 15% during this year’s peak season
That’s the key finding of the hospitality association, Hosteleria Valencia, via their survey of the 2025 summer period.
For 69% of those businesses surveyed, the high season saw an annual drop in turnover between 10% and 15%- depending on their location in Valencia province.
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That’s despite record numbers of foreign tourists visiting the area and spending more on their holiday than the previous year.
August brought in more money for the hospitality sector than July- especially in the first two weeks of last month.
Hosteleria Valencia says a larger proportion of a holiday budget is spent on higher travel costs and more expensive accommodation, meaning that spending on hospitality is ‘hindered’.
It suggests that more people are staying in self-catering accommodation which changes their habits and allows them to save money by cooking at home as opposed to going to restaurants.
The group also states that domestic tourists are also feeling the squeeze by spending less due to accommodation price rises and a feeling of uncertainty about the future.
They also tend to go out more over the weekend and ‘stay in’ during the rest of the week.
On the plus side, it pointed out that domestic visitors no longer concentrate on the summer season and travel at other times of the year.
Hosteleria Valencia added that its members said that the record number and length of heatwaves during the summer was a factor in reduced customer numbers- especially on terraces during the very hot days.
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Down for tax purposes only!
We have a ” boulevard” close to where we live, and speaking to the owners, they also report reduced turnover. However, there has been an increase of around 25 percent in units which provide dining facilities, since last year. If the footfall is the same, and recent figures for airport arrivals indicate that footfall has probably at least remained the same, then it provides an answer. Could it be the case in Valencia, particularly since I think a significant number of outlets which closed during COVID, have recently reopened.