Seville’s Hotels Are Feeling the Missing Madrid Trains

Two weeks after the high-speed train collision near Urda, in Toledo province, the economic impact on Andalusia is becoming visible in hotel data. The October 28 crash killed 69 people and closed the rail line between Madrid and Seville, which normally carries 47 trains and about 10,000 passengers a day. Renfe has suspended ticket sales on the route until December, and figures from hotel analytics firm MKG now show a sharp drop in occupancy in Seville during the first week of November.

On a panel of nine Seville hotels, MKG found occupancy of 74.8 per cent between November 1 and 8, compared with 87.5 per cent on the same days a year earlier, a fall of 12.7 points. Rooms sold dropped 14.5 per cent, and the wider province of Seville followed the same pattern with a decline of 13.2 points. Part of the slowdown predates the accident: in the week of October 20 to 26, occupancy was already about six points below 2025, but the gap roughly doubled once the rail closure dragged on.

Local hoteliers had warned that losing the Madrid link could cost the city 3,000 to 4,200 overnight travelers a day, since many rail passengers stay at least one night. Airlines added capacity to absorb some of the demand, with Iberia adding seats between Madrid and Andalusia on the day of the crash. Málaga, which some expected to pick up diverted visitors, shows no clear shift: its occupancy was already weaker than last year before the accident, and the gap narrowed to 5.1 points in early November.

Booking data points the same way. According to TravelgateX, agency and tour-operator hotel bookings in Andalusia fell 13.8 per cent year on year in the week of November 2 to 8, while Catalonia rose 13.4 per cent and the Canary Islands 4.5 per cent. For travelers, softer demand can mean better hotel availability and rates in Seville this month, but getting there now means flying or taking a long bus or car journey from Madrid, so build extra time into any Andalusia itinerary.

Sources: Hospitality ON, Hospitality ON (October 30)