Every year, the same question. As Holy Week and summer season approach, thousands of pet owners begin the preparations and repeat the same consultation against hotels, owners of restaurants and tour operators: “Do you accept pets?” Google’s data, the first step of any search, confirm it: consultations on establishments’ policies begin to shoot from June of each year and, in August 2024, they reached their maximum point. and restaurants also receive multiple consultations in their direct channels.
“There is a growing impulse and more interested companies,” says Pablo Muñoz Gabilondo, caregiver and responsible for the ‘Pipper on Tour’ project. This nine -year Parson Russell Terrier has been touring Spain since 2018, shaping a community of more than 100,000 followers on Instagram that has catapulted it to its own weekly program that was broadcast between 2023 and 2024 in the 2 TVE. “Spain is late in considering the animal as one of the family, but this is already a reality today: there are already more pets than children,” he says. According to a Funcas report, prepared from Eurostat data, there are six pets in the country for each under four years.
Although there are no official figures, estimates on accommodations that receive dogs, cats and other small animals agree that they are increasing. Sector’s signatures estimate that almost one in three establishments at Booking.com is offered as pet friendlya little behind the European average. However, behind this label appears a wide variety of alternatives, since each firm reserves the right to collect supplements (which exceed 40 euros per night in some cases) or impose conditions and requirements to the owners of the pets.
The offer of solutions for visitors who do not want to leave their pet at home also appears as a form of differentiation for many chains. “We received 210 pets in all 2024,” says Toni García, manager of the Casual Ibira hotel in Granada. This hotel emphasizes that “only once” had to contact the owners of a dog for the annoying noises of the animal, but that most of the rooms do not generate any problem. The arrival of these four -legged visitors does generate some changes in the operation, as a process of cleaning the room that can be slowed up to 10 minutes. which add new devices of greater power that ensure cleaning.
Behind the introduction of these options there is a clear business calculation. “Travelers who choose accommodations pet friendly They usually invest more in their stay, whether in broader suites or additional services, which positively impacts average spending by host, ”comment from Palladium Hotel Group. From this chain they ensure that the evolution of these offers will include new personalized experiences for dogs and cats and well -being treatments,“ as if the pets were a more host ”.
The growing interest has also allowed the appearance of alternatives where they are the main protagonists. Ricardo Alonso, one of the partners behind Guauqueviajes, the first company in Spain to offer tourist proposals designed for dogs and their owners, says: “The change has been quite strong since we start family”. Another of the changes that Alonso highlights is the transformation in the dogs themselves. “At the beginning they came store dogs; now, 90% are adopted or found, which tells us about growing awareness by the owners,” he says.
The solutions pet friendly They have also sneaked into the world of luxury. “Pets are part of the family and, of course, they must feel equally welcome as any guest,” says Azahara Cavanillas, head of Marketing at Kimpton Aysla Mallorca, a luxurious boutique resort located in Mallorca. In this case, in addition to the usual proposals to simplify the trip, some solutions are offered that, for the moment, few accommodations provide. “We have a free feed available at reception, in case a client forgets to bring yours. And if they need a special option, our kitchen team can prepare natural food adapted to their needs,” says Cavanillas.
The yes and not traveling with pets, according to the Animal Welfare Law
- The rule establishes that, from traveling by car, pets cannot travel loose, so it must be disposed of mandatory support or, if preferred, of a specific transport. Dogs and cats can not remain only in the vehicle if the outside temperature can endanger your health.
- In case of leaving little partner at home, something that often happens with cats, they should not remain more than 72 consecutive hours alone.
- According to the regulations, animals will not be able to access kitchens, pantries or other areas of restaurants or accommodations aimed at cooking or keeping food. However, its presence in other common areas depends exclusively on the will of the establishment. However, the law establishes that, if the entrance limit, each space must have a visible badge from the outside. That is, it is not enough to inform customers, but must be announced expressly.
- In addition, a council that is repeated among those in charge of hotel establishments and tourist apartments, is not to forget the veterinary card or health passport of the animal, where the data of the same and its vaccination pattern are recorded. Without the same, for example, animals cannot leave Spain to any neighboring country.
Weak points
The changes that the sector has suffered do not imply that there are no pending challenges. Moving through Spain with a dog if you do not have a car can be a somewhat challenging task. “People do not want to put the dog in a winery, and this limits the offers available,” says Alonso. At the moment, in high -speed trains, although it demands the payment of an extra of 35 euros when buying the ticket, within what the public operator defines as a “pilot test”. The other two rail operators, Iryo and Ouigo, allow only the trip with small animals that do not weigh more than 10 kilos.
These limitations, say from the tourism sector, restrict the arrival of tourists (and pets) from neighboring countries. Garcia comments that, from tourists with pets, 54% were foreigners, of which Germans, Italians and British represent almost 18%.
Something similar occurs in the air, where airlines impose a weight limit to take animals in cabin. For its part, some airlines low costsuch as Ryanair and Wizz Air, do not allow to transport animals unless they are assistance or Lazarillo. By bus, companies do not report any option that is not transporting pets in the winery.
To the inconveniences in transport are added the activities to be carried out, which, especially in urban environments, present setbacks. For example, in the case of Granada, its great tourist attraction, the Alhambra, does not admit pets, except for guide or social assistance dogs, as well as the animals supporting security services.
From Civitatis, which has more than 91,000 proposals worldwide, they emphasize that 23% of their visits in Spain are pet friendly. This, however, does not solve the setbacks of some stops where pets cannot yet access, such as museums, historical heritage and some restaurants. The new Animal Welfare Law, approved in 2023, prohibits those responsible for leaving the dogs tied out, but only specifies that the establishments “can facilitate” their entry, at the choice of the owners. However, when you look by community, autonomies such as Aragon totally prohibit the access of dogs and cats to food spaces.
The ‘no’ to pets goes beyond private spaces in large cities. “It has happened to me with Pipper in Peñíscola in the middle of winter and that the police were controlling that there are no dogs on empty beaches,” says Muñoz Gabilondo. “Spain has a brutal sun and beach offer, but there are still few who admit dogs,” he confirms.
The question that is asked in the sector is if, once the regulatory details are resolved, this tourist segment will be inclined towards general proposals or, on the contrary, it will become a niche alternative. This would not be a surprise and would repeat what some hotels already do with the moment, the little ones (and not so small) four -legged companions advance rapidly in all Spanish and abroad tourist capitals. Although the health passport does not have space for prints of each destination, dogs and cats are immortalized in the photographs of their owners.
