Tourism in Murcia ends the year on a high note
Record numbers of travellers and overnight stays cap off a successful 2024 in Murcia
Tourism in Murcia has reached unprecedented heights in 2024, with more than half a million holidaymakers visiting the city and generating nearly 900,000 overnight stays. These remarkable figures represent the best results in the past decade, surpassing even the strong performance of 2023.
As with the rest of the Region of Murcia, the month of December has been key in the increase of visitors, thanks to the long weekend and Christmas, according to the Association of Hotels and Tourist Accommodations of Murcia (Ashomur). Hotel occupancy during the Christmas campaign reached an impressive 90%, figures very similar to the previous year when economic recovery was in full swing.
As always, international tourism was another major contributor to Murcia’s success. Overnight stays by foreign visitors totalled 205,806 in 2024, marking a 6.7% increase compared to the previous year. October and November were particularly noteworthy, as international tourism set new records by surpassing 50,000 travellers in a single month for the first time ever.
Business tourism also played a vital role in boosting the city’s tourism sector. In 2024, this segment generated more than 37 million euros for the local economy and attracted more than 140,000 visitors.
Business tourism is especially valuable because it tends to increase overnight stays on weekdays, making it an important factor for the city’s growth. According to the employer’s association HoyTú, working visitors also tend to stay longer, further supporting the sector.
At the regional level, the tourism industry showed positive results overall, but challenges remain. HoyTú has raised concerns about profitability, which has been lower than in previous years. The Region of Murcia in general also faces a shortage of hotels.
According to HoyTú president Jesús Jiménez, Murcia’s coastal areas have far fewer hotel accommodations compared to other regions, such as Almería, which offers double the capacity.
"We have very few hotels, we need more places because in this sense Almería doubles the offer in coastal areas," he said.
For this reason, Mr Jiménez is calling on the Regional Government to invest more in next year's budget, since it currently only has 22 million allocated and "at least double that would be needed to be able to boost tourism in the Region," he stressed.
In other news: The cheapest destinations for Imserso trips in 2025
Image: Freepik
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