Sanfermines tourism is recovering after two years without parties and with a forecast of almost being full in hotels in Pamplona, with prices higher than in 2019 and changes in the profile of the visitor.
With just over 20 days to go until the Sanfermines start, there are still free rooms in hotels, which hasten the days to reach 98% occupancy that is planned for the night of July 6, where in some places it is already impossible to reserve .
From the Pamplona Hotel Association, its president, Sara Martínez, affirms that the prospects were “very optimistic” but that in the last month “they have slowed down”. “We still have free places although we trust that it will pick up in recent days,” she adds.
To date, the night of July 6 has closed an occupancy rate of 90%, something that drops for the 7th, where so far 85% of the rooms have been sold, a lower percentage than the rest of the parties, which It’s also around 90.
In 2019, the year in which the last Sanfermines were celebrated, the average price for the night of July 6 in a hotel was 390 euros and this year the forecast is that it will be around 430 euros. It is an average calculated with the rooms that have been closed since they were put up for sale.
Whoever wants to go to San Fermín and does not yet have a room reserved will have to face the high prices that are requested for the last ones that are free. In the center of the city, the Gran Hotel la Perla, as can be seen on its website, offers its suite with views of the Plaza del Castillo for 1,463 euros on the night of July 6, while the one in La Estafeta, overlooking the first running of the bulls, it costs 1,672 euros
The price for all parties in the “Standard Estafeta” room is 13,376 euros for accommodation only and 26,020 in the Plaza del Castillo suite. This is the maximum price in Pamplona for a 5-star hotel in the city center.
At the Pompaelo hotel, a 4-star hotel located in Plaza Consistorial, the night of July 6 is complete. The one from 7 costs 1,170 euros and from 7 to 15 the price rises to 5,516 euros, an average of 689 euros per night.
The Maisonnave hotel, also 4 stars and located in the center of the city, rates the night of July 6 at 680 euros and the average night during the holidays is 518 euros. The Iruña Park, 4 stars but located on the outskirts of the city, asks for 3,294 euros to spend all the parties there.
Once the weekend of the nights of July 8 and 9 is over, the price of the rooms goes down and, according to Martínez, “the last days of the festivities it will be possible to come to Pamplona at a more affordable price” .
The main differences with the Sanfermines of 2019 in what has to do with hotel reservations are the dates on which the rooms are rented. “In 2019 we were selling all year and, the sooner the stay is reserved, the cheaper it is. What has happened this year has been that in January we were still in the middle of the sixth wave, which increased uncertainty,” he explains.
Another difference is that the center of Pamplona has 380 fewer hotel rooms since the pandemic began, since six establishments have closed in this time. And it is that in Pamplona, without a doubt, San Fermín is the high season and, therefore, so is the month of July. In July 2019 the hotels registered an occupancy rate of 75% and in the same month of 2020 it was 40%, in the midst of a pandemic and without Sanfermines.
In previous years, according to Sara Martínez, 80% of those who visited Pamplona during the Sanfermines were foreign tourists, compared to 20% nationals. This year, at least with regard to hotel tourism, these percentages are maintained on the night of July 6, but for the rest of the festivities it will be the other way around.
80% will be national tourists, which will mean a decrease in foreign tourists in San Fermín. This is reflected in the data on reservations in the 26 hotels that make up the Pamplona Hotel Association.
Regarding the origin, Martínez points out that the European tourist has dropped a lot but that in the last days of festivities the French will be the ones who visit the Navarrese capital the most. The Australians, who are regular visitors, will not come as many this year, as will the Mexicans.
Those who do not want to reserve a hotel room for Sanfermines have the option of renting an entire apartment or a room in a private home or Airbnb. As happens with hotels at the last minute, having a flat in the old part of the city during the most important dates of the year is not cheap.
There are accommodations that can reach 8,000 euros to spend the holidays in a central street. One of the flats on offer on Calle San Francisco, with a double bed, costs 8,227 euros for all Sanfermines. In Calle San Antón, the rent for a room with a private bathroom amounts to 6,603 euros for the nine days.
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