The Alhambra has the best year for tourism in its history

2013 was a record-breaking year for the Alhambra and Generalife Group of Monuments, with 2,315,017 visitors, the highest figure in its history, choosing the Nasrid fortress to enjoy the Heritage experience, up 2.42% on 2012. Speaking at the presentation of the Annual Report on Tourism, Educational and Cultural Activities, the Director of the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife, María del Mar Villafranca, said that “The Alhambra remains the most important tourist attraction in Granada and Andalucía, and one of the most popular places to visit in Spain”.
In spite of the fall in the early months of the year, above all in January (down 11.63% on 2012) and February (down 4.11%), the growth since the arrival of spring was “spectacular”, above all in the months of October (230,336 visitors, 4.42% more than in 2012), November (148,687, up 6.44%) and December (127,278, a rise of 13.43%), so “softening” the traditional drop in demand in the winter months. As regards the monthly and daily entrance figures, the report states that the busiest day of the year was the 29th March with 9,054 people and the quietest, 16th January with 1,942. The month with the highest number of visitors was May with 254,338, while January with 92,772 people was the lowest.
The statistics for the Annual Report on Tourism, Educational and Cultural Activities were obtained by the Sustainability Laboratory of the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife and show that the Monument received a total of 3,244,847 visitors in 2013. The Report also confirms the increase in the demand for culture, with a rise of 2.35% in attendance at the Alhambra’s museum, exhibition and cultural activities compared to 2012. Of these, 213,165 tourists visited the Museum of the Alhambra, 7.09% more than last year, and 167,270 went to the Granada Fine Arts Museum on the upper floor of the Palace of Charles V.
The temporary exhibitions installed at the Alhambra have also been well-received with a daily average of 1,325 visitors. The most popular were “Art and cultures of al-Andalus, the Power of the Alhambra” organized jointly by the Consortium for the Commemoration of the First Millennium of the Kingdom of Granada, the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife and the al-Andalus Lgacy Foundation, with 32,836 visitors from its inauguration on 2nd December to 31st December 2013; Juan Cristóbal (1898-1961) with 26,985 visitors; Torres Balbás and Scientific Restoration (68,246); Weapons and Equipment for the Defence of the Nasrid Alhambra (133,141); Nasrid Coins (75,307); Caliphate Bronzes (74,578) and Silk Brought to Light (41,386), among others, making a total of 481,091 people attending exhibitions.
To this number we must also add the spectators at the Lorca and Granada programme in the Gardens of the Generalife (32,301) and at the International Festival of Music and Dance of Granada (23,274) and other cultural activities (11,847), including the Sahilian Night (250), the Barenboim Concert (800), International World Heritage Day (7,000), Museum Day (568) and White Night (3,229, with a joint visit to the Corral del Carbón, the Bañuelo Arabic baths and the Museum of the Alhambra).
As regards the number of nights tourists spend in Granada, the report specifies two categories: individual visitors, of whom 80.35% were tourists, 15.86% on day-trips and 2.76% local residents, and group visitors, of whom 69.13% were tourists, 28.04% on day-trips and 0.79% residents. A total of 1,145,393 individual tourists stayed in the city and 34,594 in the province; while group travellers made up 4.96% of overnight stays. The most common form of accommodation chosen by the individual tourists were 1-3 star hotels (38.72%), although a large number also stayed in the homes of friends and relatives (6.54%); while most group visitors tended to prefer 4-5 star hotels, with 58.29%.
During her speech, the Director of the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife described the institution’s social commitment as “very satisfactory” and explained that in 2013 a total of 358,402 people had taken advantage of the special programmes and discounts offered by the Monument, a total of 16% of all visits. Those benefitting included over-65s, under-12s, disabled people, youth-card holders, school parties and Groups of over 15 people. She also made a special reference to people from Granada, of whom 14,750 came up the hill to the Alhambra to enjoy the free entrance on Sundays. “I would like to thank you for your affection and understanding: the Alhambra gets a bit closer to the Granadinos every day, a fact brought out by the figures”, she said.
As regards the different types of visit, by far the most popular was the day ticket with 1,969,994 people, up 1.1% on 2012; followed by Gardens Only, which increased by 8.6%. Alhambra a Different Perspective was up 261% with 23,215 visitors, and the combined tickets with other institutions have multiplied tenfold over the last year to 2,359.
As regards the type of visitor, the Report states that individual tourists totalling 1,444,034 made up 57%, while organized tours accounted for 37% with 861,473 visitors. The remaining 6% were part of cultural or institutional programmes. The report also confirmed the consolidation of the system for advance booking and purchase of tickets (70%), while 21.28% bought their tickets at the ticket-office or from ticket-machines and 1.02% used the Tourist Pass.
In terms of the profile of the visitors to the Alhambra, the study stated that 61% of the individual tourists were Spanish (850,000, of whom 42,160 were from Granada, 179,945 from other provinces in Andalusia and 627,895 from the rest of Spain). They were aged between 26 and 50 years old, with university education and qualified employment, while group visitors came from the European Union (31%) and 52% were over 50 years old, with higher education studies, and 28% were either retired or pensioners. There was a significant increase in the number of American visitors. The average individual visitor spent an average of 67.94 euros a day, while group visitors spent 64.54 euros. Their level of satisfaction with the Monument was “very high” and particularly high scores were awarded to the “cleanness, state of conservation and gardens”.
The website of the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife (www.alhambra-patronato.es) has had a positive influence on the dissemination of knowledge about the Monument. In 2013 it received 895,967 visits, 47% more than in 2012, with an average of 15 minutes per consultation, reaching a record figure of 17 minutes in August.
visitors spent 64.54 euros. Their level of satisfaction with the Monument was “very high” and particularly high scores were awarded to the “cleanness, state of conservation and gardens”.
The website of the Council of the Alhambra and Generalife (www.alhambra-patronato.es) has had a positive influence on the dissemination of knowledge about the Monument. In 2013 it received 895,967 visits, 47% more than in 2012, with an average of 15 minutes per consultation, reaching a record figure of 17 minutes in August. The typical visitor to the Alhambra website is between 35 and 54 years old and university-educated. They are above all women with university education who visit us mainly from their workplace. 71.3% of visits to the website were from Spain, 10.11% from the United States and 4.1% from France.
Another interesting statistic from the study was the number of users of the Alhambra’s Bluetooth service. In 2013 12,000 visitors downloaded the application onto their mobile phones at two places in the Monument: at the Puerta del Vino and the Ticket Offices.
The Alhambra has also had a big role in the media. According to figures analysing presence in the media obtained by Kantar Media, there were a total of 25,799 news items referring to the Monument, reaching an audience of 2,787,197,700. They also estimated that if these news items were advertisements, the cost in money terms of the space or the time, calculated according to current media advertising fees, would be 33,219,181 euros. Of these media impacts, 20,717 were in digital media, 4,421 in the printed press, 350 on the radio and 311 on television.

For more information, please visit www.alhambra-patronato.es