Brexit not a problem for Costa del Sol’s Tourism Industry

THE Costa del Sol is welcoming more British tourists then ever despite Brexit fears. 

Holidays in Spain and especially in Malaga province seem to be sacred to the British as evidenced by the fact that between January and September 2.37 million travellers from Britain passed though Malaga’s airport – that is an increase of 2.5 per cent over the same period last year.  

Of that number, 817,340 British have stayed in hotels in Malaga province in the period, a rise of 2.8 per cent, for a total of 4.1 million overnight stays, according to data provided on Monday by Costa del Sol Tourism. 
The hotels on the Costa del Sol account for 65 per cent of British travellers staying in Andalucia and 72 per cent of overnight stays. 

Many thousands more Britons stay in other regulated tourist establishments, such as apartments or campsites, in homes for tourist use and in their own homes. 

Francisco Salado, president of Costa del Sol Tourism, revealed that the average British tourist spends 8.4 days here and spends €100 a day. 

Favourite activities trips to the beach, walking, and visiting monuments and historical sites. They give the Costa del Sol an average score of nine out of10. Three out of four British tourists say they will return and 99 per cent would recommend this destination to their family and friends.  

Representatives of Costa del Sol Tourism will take these figure to the World Travel Market (WTM) that will take place next week in London and which is one of the three largest European tourism fairs along with Fitur in Madrid and the ITB in Berlin. 

“We are going to the WTM with more force than ever. Spain is the first destination for British tourists and we hope it will continue to be like this for many years,” said Salado. 

The organisation will have its own stand and will spend €300,000 including on an an advertising campaign inside the Excel pavilion where the fair is held and at Tube stations. 
“We’re going to play with the heart and with the generations to come year after year regardless of whether there’s Brexit or not.” 

The bankruptcy of the British tour operator Thomas Cook has not had a major impact on the Costa del Sol as it was not a big player in this part of Spain. 

Salado said: “We hope that Brexit will not affect us. We have had an umbilical cord between Britain and the Costa del Sol for generations and we will continue to be a competitive destination.”