2024 starts in the south of Gran Canaria with a focus on the German economy, the market from which the tourism business decisions in Maspalomas come because the headquarters of key tour operators such as TUI, FTI or DER Touristik are located there. The year 2024 begins with the hope of knowing what impact the arrival of Binter Canarias will have on the Gran Canaria tourism market in its operations with the south of the island. That is to say: whether it will be useful to bring peninsular tourism or not. It will also be the year in which it is expected to decode the future of the port of Santa Águeda and the interests of Cordial Hoteles to develop a product with hotel cargo on that space.
Proof of this prosperity perceived in the south of the island is the notable average increase of 65% in hotel prices in the last five years, measured on a base index of 100 in 2008, according to the Hotel Price Index (IPH). The IPH provides information on the temporal evolution of prices received by hotel entrepreneurs from all sources, including households, companies, tour operators and travel agencies.
Regarding the national market, it is worth highlighting the arrival of Fitur at the end of January with the Spanish economy surpassing the Eurozone and a growth in gross domestic product of 2,4% for 2023, compared to only 0,5% for the Eurozone. The main drivers of this healthy growth are a resilient labor market and a strong recovery in tourism. Although the Spanish economy is expected to moderate in 2024 to 1,25%, it is still expected to exceed the EU average by 0,61 percentage points.
Solid economic growth and the imbalance between real estate supply and demand is attracting investors to the south of Gran Canaria despite the current environment of uncertainty and high interest rates. The residential and hospitality sectors are attracting the majority of investment so far this year.
In October, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC said it had invested in a 35% stake in Hotel Investment Partners, part of Blackstone, the hotel leader in southern Gran Canaria. The year 2024 will be another challenging year for property investors in Maspalomas or Meloneras, where the San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council is likely to continue offering opportunities to investors, especially in the hotel, residential and logistics sectors. Prices in southern Gran Canaria have not adjusted as quickly as most of the dynamic and liquid markets in other Canarian tourist destinations, but local authorities are hoping for a reduction in licensing terms to boost real estate investment.
