Tourist spending in Santiago halved: from 300 to 150 per table
Average spending per table in Santiago de Compostela's hospitality sector has halved, dropping from 300 to 150 euros. We look at the causes: purchasing power, changing…
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
A table of eight now spends 150 instead of 300 euros in Santiago: what's going wrong?
The hospitality sector in Santiago de Compostela has raised the alarm: average spending per table has plummeted. One example: a table of eight that used to leave 300 euros now barely reaches 150. Restaurateurs point out that tourists no longer eat out as often and, when they do, they share more dishes. But is it just a matter of purchasing power, or a change in the visitor profile?
The figures leave no room for doubt. With 300 euros for eight people, the bill per head was 37.50 euros, an amount that, in a city where octopus and seafood take centre stage, is hardly extravagant. Now, with 150 euros, the bill per person drops to 18.75 euros, barely enough for a set lunch menu and a drink. Some analysts point out that this decline is not an isolated phenomenon: grocery prices have soared — a shopping basket that used to cost 80 euros now approaches 200 — and disposable income has shrunk. Others point to a change in the make-up of tourism: more pilgrims on a tight budget and fewer high-spending visitors. And on the horizon looms the spectre of losing local customers, priced out of the market.
The irony is that, when a table of eight leaves 150 euros, what is perhaps being lost is not the money, but the memory of what the hospitality scene once was. But that is another matter.
The hospitality sector in Santiago de Compostela has raised the alarm: average spending per table has plummeted. One example: a table of eight that used to leave 300 euros now barely reaches 150. Restaurateurs point out that tourists no longer eat out as often and, when they do, they share more dishes. But is it just a matter of purchasing power, or a change in the visitor profile?
The figures leave no room for doubt. With 300 euros for eight people, the bill per head was 37.50 euros, an amount that, in a city where octopus and seafood take centre stage, is hardly extravagant. Now, with 150 euros, the bill per person drops to 18.75 euros, barely enough for a set lunch menu and a drink. Some analysts point out that this decline is not an isolated phenomenon: grocery prices have soared — a shopping basket that used to cost 80 euros now approaches 200 — and disposable income has shrunk. Others point to a change in the make-up of tourism: more pilgrims on a tight budget and fewer high-spending visitors. And on the horizon looms the spectre of losing local customers, priced out of the market.
The irony is that, when a table of eight leaves 150 euros, what is perhaps being lost is not the money, but the memory of what the hospitality scene once was. But that is another matter.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (10 replies).
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