Tourist accommodations in the Region of Murcia, both hotels and non-hotels, registered a new record for travelers and overnight stays in the period from January to September, according to the occupancy surveys in collective accommodations of the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Thus, during the first nine months of 2023, regional tourist accommodations recorded an influx of 1,408,349 travelers, 5.5 percent more than in the same period of 2022 and the highest historical figure for the accumulated January-September in the Region.
Regarding overnight stays, these totaled 4,392,211, which represents an increase of 5.4 percent in relation to the same period in 2022 and also the best historical figure for the accumulated January-September in the Region.
Record figures in September in non-hotel establishments
Non-hotel accommodation establishments in the Region registered 32,037 travelers in September, according to the INE's surveys of occupancy in apartments, campsites, and rural accommodations. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 9.8 percent, 3.6 points above the national average and the highest figure ever recorded for the month of September in the Region.
Meanwhile, overnight stays generated by these travelers in non-hotel accommodations in the Region totaled 160,621 in September, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.5 percent, 10 points above the whole of Spain.
In this category, the results of campsites stood out, registering a record number of travelers (15,299) and overnight stays (79,081) for the month of September, confirming year-on-year increases of 12.2 percent and 7.1 percent respectively.
Rural Accommodations
Furthermore, regional rural accommodations recorded increases of 18.8 percent in travelers in September compared to the same month of the previous year (reaching 2,395 travelers), and of 21.7 percent compared to the same month of 2022, reaching 6,253. Both increases were the third highest in the ranking by communities; those of travelers being only behind those registered by Navarra (+32.2 percent) and the Valencian Community (31.2 percent); and those of overnight stays only behind those of the Valencian Community (+31.2 percent), and Catalonia (24.3 percent).
The director of the Murcia Region Tourism Institute (Itrem), Juan Francisco Martínez, noted that September was a record-breaking month for regional tourism, both in terms of occupancy and employment. He pointed out that employment levels surpassed those of August for the first time, reaching 46,679 people registered with Social Security in the hospitality and travel agency sectors, according to data from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, as analyzed by Turespaña. This was the highest number of registered workers for the month of September in the historical record, exceeding the figure for the same month in 2022 by 5.4 percent.