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Stag and hen tsunami
EXCLUSIVE figures show that Benidorm could face a ‘stag and hen tsunami’ next yearwith the booking boom worth an estimated whopping €40 million to businesses in the resort.
Prewedding jaunts to the Costa Blanca party hotspot have rocketed in recent years. One leading UK firm has previously reported a 700 per cent surge in bookings since 2018.
Now businessman Matt
Mavir, Managing Director of Last Night of Freedom, said enquiries for 2024 are already “through the roof” with around one in every eight stag or hen weekends set to be staged in Benidorm next year.
“Benidorm is already incredibly popular, but next year the resort looks set to reach the next level,” said Matt.
“There’s nowhere else in mainland Europe that is coming close to Benidorm at the moment, we can only describe it as a stag and hen tsunami.
“In fact, there are so many stags and hens visiting, that sector alone is now worth somewhere between €3040 million a year to Benidorm.”
According to Matt, who has helped to organise over 45,000 stag and hen trips, the city has leapfrogged the likes of Prague and Dublin to form what he calls the “holy trinity” of destinations, alongside Liverpool and Newcastle.
TOURISM figures in the Valencia Region have officially recovered to prepandemic levels, according to hotel and tourism business association Hosbec.
Figures published by the group for the first half of May reveal that the British market still ‘reigns’ in Benidorm with more than 50 per cent of market share and that it grew more than six points compared to 2019 thanks to the bank holiday for the coronation of Charles III.
The region registered average occupation levels of more than 80 per cent, with Valencia City recording more than 88 per cent and Alicante hitting 85 per cent.
After the UK, the main international tourist markets in the region are Belgium, Holland, France, Scandinavia, Ireland, Italy and, increasingly, the USA.
Hosbec president Fede Fuster highlighted the importance of these results but added that the sector is currently focused on a different type of goal.
“Our objectives are now to consolidate the activity, and improve profitability.”
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