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Holidays will be 22 percent more expensive in Spain this Easter

Travelling to or around Spain this Easter will be a lot more expensive than in previous years, according new data.

Published: 23 March 2023 12:26 CET
Holidays will be 22 percent more expensive in Spain this Easter
Travelling to and around Spain will be 22 percent more expensive this Easter. Photo: Chris Boland / Unsplash

Accommodation alone will be 22 percent more expensive on average than a year ago, according to hotel reservation site Booking.com.

Hoteliers are feeling the effects of inflation and are taking advantage of the Easter holiday season to raise prices and offset costs.

This translates into about €30 more per room per night. According to Booking.com, in 2023 the average price per night will be €155, compared to the €127 it cost in 2022.

READ ALSO: What are the best cities in Spain to see the Semana Santa processions?

Not only will rooms be more expensive, but also services such as laundry and breakfast have also increased in price.

Lourdes Grau, director of the Gallery Hotel in Barcelona, ​​has indicated that in the Catalan capital, there are increases of up to 25 percent in room prices compared to Easter last year. “Hotel prices depend a lot on demand,” she explains and confirms that there is already a 90 percent occupancy rate in the city.

In fact, it’s not just in Barcelona where hotels will be full, in many popular Spanish cities hoteliers have predicted 80 or 90 percent occupancy rates.

READ ALSO: What will the weather be like in Spain for Easter week?

Alberto Galloso, director of Hosbec Valencia, explains that electricity has increased, among other things, and that “hoteliers have to transfer these costs little by little”. 

International travellers are also driving up the prices and occupancy rate this Easter. According to SiteMinder’s World Hotel Index – a hotel reservation platform –  60 percent of the clients in Spanish hotels this April will be foreigners.  

According to SiteMinder’s data, Spain will be most popular with the British this Easter, followed by the French, then the Germans and then the Italians and the Dutch.  

Booking.com has revealed that the most popular Spanish cities with both Spaniards and foreigners this Holy Week will be Madrid, Seville, Granada and Barcelona.

Experts warn that if prices are this high during Semana Santa, they will be even more expensive during the summer. 

Other places in Spain are in fact waiting until the summer to apply rate increases. For example, Luis de la Muela Cabanas, a receptionist at the Hotel Alda Santa Cristina in A Coruña has explained that since his city is not so popular during Holy Week “the great rise will be noticeable in the high season, around June, July and September”. 

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EU

How would a ‘youth mobility scheme’ between the UK and EU really work?

The EU and the UK could enter into a 'youth mobility' scheme allowing young people to move countries to work, study and live. Here's what we know about the proposal.

Published: 18 April 2024 17:09 CEST
How would a 'youth mobility scheme' between the UK and EU really work?

Across the 27 countries of the EU, people of all ages can move countries to work, study, spend a long visit or chase the possibility of love – and all this is possible thanks to EU freedom of movement.

That freedom no longer extends to the UK. As a result of Brexit, a UK national who wants to move to an EU country, or an EU citizen who wants to move to the UK, will need a visa in order to do so.

However, a new ‘mobility scheme’ could re-create some elements of freedom of movement, if the EU and UK can come to an agreement.

The European Commission on Thursday announced proposals for a ‘youth mobility scheme’.

Who would benefit?

First things first, it’s only for the youngsters, older people will have to continue with the time-consuming and often expensive process of getting a visa for study, work or visiting.

The Commission’s proposal is for a scheme that covers people aged 18 to 30. 

Their reasoning is: “The withdrawal of the UK from the EU has resulted in decreased mobility between the EU and the UK. This situation has particularly affected the opportunities for young people to experience life on the other side of the Channel and to benefit from youth, cultural, educational, research and training exchanges.

“The proposal seeks to address in an innovative way the main barriers to mobility for young people experienced today and create a right for young people to travel from the EU to the UK and vice-versa more easily and for a longer period of time.”

How would it work?

We’re still at an early stage, but the proposal is to allow extended stays – for young people to be able to spend up to four years in the EU or UK – under a special type of visa or residency permit. It does not, therefore, replicate the paperwork-free travel of the pre-Brexit era.

The Commission states that travel should not be ‘purpose bound’ to allow young people to undertake a variety of activities while they are abroad.

Under the visa system, people must travel to a country for a specific purpose which has been arranged before they leave – ie in order to study they need a student visa which requires proof of enrolment on a course, or if they intend to work they need a working visa which often requires sponsorship from an employer.

The proposal would allow young people to spend their time in a variety of ways – perhaps some time working, a period of study and then some time travelling or just relaxing.

It would also not be subject to national or Bloc-wide quotas.

It seems that some kind of visa or residency permit would still be required – but it would be issued for up to four years and could be used for a variety of activities.

Fees for this should not be “excessive” – and the UK’s health surcharge would not apply to people travelling under this scheme.

Are there conditions?

Other than the age qualification, the proposal is that young people would have to meet other criteria, including having comprehensive health insurance, plus financial criteria to ensure that they will be able to support themselves while abroad.

The visa/residency permit could be rejected on the ground of threats to public policy, public security or public health.

Will this happen soon?

Slow down – what’s happened today is that the European Commission has made a recommendation to open negotiations.

This now needs to be discussed in the Council of Europe.

If the Council agrees then, and only then, will the EU open negotiations with the UK on the subject. The scheme could then only become a reality if the EU and UK come to an agreement on the terms of the scheme, and then refine the fine details.

Basically we’re talking years if it happens at all, and there’s plenty of steps along the way that could derail the whole process.

Don’t start packing just yet.

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