Hotels across Spain say Imserso travel rates are too low to break even. With nearly 900,000 subsidized spots and millions applying, key destinations like Benidorm and Mallorca may withdraw. The future of off-season tourism support is uncertain.
Spain’s Imserso travel program for pensioners is at a breaking point. Hotel associations in major tourist areas say the current rates make it impossible to participate without losing money. For 2026, nearly 4.6 million people have applied for just under 880,000 subsidized spots, but frustration is growing among the hotels the scheme was meant to help.
The math is straightforward: hotels get between 24.5 and 27 euros per guest per day, depending on location. Industry groups say this doesn’t cover the real cost of full-board stays, especially after the pandemic and rising energy and food prices. In Benidorm, a city closely tied to Imserso since 1985, the local hotel association HOSBEC wants a minimum of 35 euros plus VAT per person per day. The current offer of 26 to 30 euros, they say, means running at a loss.
"The official Imserso program for 2026–2027 includes 879,213 places, with 7,447 reserved at a fixed price of 50 euros for pensioners with low incomes."
— Official program data
“No hotel working with Imserso does it to make money,” says Eduard Farriol of the Confederación Española de Hoteles y Alojamientos (Cehat). Many hotels have stayed in the program for decades to keep staff employed during the low season. But with costs up more than 30% in recent years, some are questioning if they can keep going. HOSBEC estimates that a mass exit could put over 15,000 jobs and 100 million euros in hotel revenue at risk in the Valencian Community alone, plus another 50 million euros in related spending.
The problem isn’t limited to the mainland. In Mallorca, only 8 out of 800 hotels in the local federation are still in the program. The rest have left, saying the rates are outdated and don’t match the island’s upgraded hotels. The Canary Islands show a similar trend: just 36 out of 256 hotels take part, as the region’s high season now overlaps with Imserso’s travel window and international tourists pay more. Local hoteliers say the program’s original target—pensioners with little travel experience—has changed, with many current users having higher incomes and using Imserso for its low prices rather than out of need.
On the Costa del Sol, almost all hotels have left. Fewer than five are expected to participate, as international visitors now fill the off-season, drawn by golf and cultural tourism. Patricio Gutiérrez of the local hotel association Aehcos says that while Imserso is a social program, it should at least let hotels break even. He estimates rates would need to rise by 30% to 50% to make it worthwhile.
"According to Cadena SER, only 10 hotels in Castellón are participating in the Imserso launch for 2026–2027, a drop attributed directly to the program's low profitability for hoteliers. This regional decline reflects a broader trend, as industry leaders like Federico Fuster of HOSBEC warn that current daily rates of 26–27 euros per person make continued participation economically unviable."
— Cadena SER
Imserso was created to promote active aging among pensioners and keep tourism jobs during the off-season. But as Spain’s tourism calendar has changed, with shorter low seasons and more international demand, the program’s impact has faded. Some hoteliers now see Imserso as a way for the government to save on unemployment benefits and collect more in taxes, pointing to a University of Alicante study that says the state gets back 1.66 euros for every euro spent.
Despite the criticism, the program is still popular with pensioners, and demand far exceeds supply. Beneficiaries pay between 309 and 409 euros for a trip, much less than market rates. But as more hotels leave, places like Guardamar, Torrevieja, Peñíscola, Calpe, Gandía, and even Benidorm could see far fewer off-season visitors. The risk is a chain reaction: fewer hotels mean fewer jobs, less local spending, and less support for Spain’s tourism workforce.
The government has acted boldly in other areas—such as the recent border investigation—but has not addressed the main financial complaints from hotels about Imserso. The numbers are clear: unless rates are updated to match real costs, the program’s future as a support for off-season tourism is in doubt. The situation in Benidorm, Mallorca, and the Canary Islands shows a system out of step with today’s market. If policymakers want Imserso to last, they will need to address the hotel sector’s concerns and find a better balance between social goals and economic reality.
