Something new has been quietly changing the way New Year’s Eve is celebrated on the Costa Blanca, and the hospitality sector has noticed.
More and more people are choosing to welcome the new year early, long before midnight, thanks to what has become known as the Australian New Year’s Eve.
The idea is simple. When people in Sydney are already celebrating the arrival of the new year, it is still lunchtime on the Costa Blanca, with a time difference of 10 hours. Over the last decade, this has encouraged many residents and visitors to swap late night dinners for relaxed daytime celebrations.
New Year’s Eve on the Costa Blanca
Restaurants are feeling the shift. While evening dinners on December 31st still exist, lunchtime bookings have grown steadily and are now almost on a par with dinner reservations. Gabriela Córdoba, president of the Alicante Restaurant Association, explains that although evening bookings have dropped slightly, the rise in lunchtime diners has more than made up for it. In short, restaurants are seeing more customers overall.
According to Córdoba, this change has been building for around ten years. The classic New Year’s Eve formula of a long dinner, party hats and dancing until the early hours is no longer as appealing as it once was. Many diners now prefer a more relaxed lunch, without formal clothes, where they can meet family and friends and still be home at a sensible hour.
This shift is also reflected in prices. Lunch on December 31st is usually cheaper than dinner. Evening celebrations tend to be based around set menus, often costing around €100 to €110 per person. Lunch menus are usually more flexible, sometimes including drinks after the meal, and often cost around half that amount. Dinner menus typically feature seafood, Iberian ham, foie gras, fish as the main course and traditional Christmas sweets.
Extra costs for later meals
However, higher prices at night do not automatically mean much higher profits. Opening late on New Year’s Eve comes with extra costs, especially higher staff wages, which reduces the difference in earnings for restaurant owners.
Mar Valera, president of the Alicante Provincial Hospitality Association, agrees that lunchtime celebrations have taken the lead, particularly since the pandemic. She explains that the typical midday customer is not someone heading out clubbing later, but older diners and families with young children who prefer to enjoy a meal and get home early.
As for availability, some restaurants are already full, while others are expecting last minute bookings. Prices remain broadly similar to last year, despite inflation, although a few venues have increased menus by around €10 per person.
What is clear is that New Year’s Eve on the Costa Blanca is no longer just about midnight. For many people, the new year now starts at lunchtime, with good food, good company and an early night.
