Spain’s most popular destinations with Europeans

Easter is traditionally a very busy holiday period in Spain as locals celebrate the holy week, but which are the most popular destinations for European holiday makers.

According to Jetcost, the flight, hotel and car rental search engine, there are few surprises with Barcelona topping the list, followed by Malaga, Alicante and Palma de Mallorca.

Who the areas are favoured by does differ significantly though with Barcelona most researched by travellers from France, Italy and Portugal. Malaga is a firm favourite with the Dutch, whilst the Germans like Palma de Mallorca and the British Alicante.

Spain is hugely popular at Easter with a bumper year expected following a two year hiatus caused by the pandemic. According to the report by Jetcost, Spain is a favourite at this time of year with its culture, good weather, great food and reasonable costs. It is also one of the easiest countries to visit according to the website with no shortage of flights, open borders and welcoming locals.

Jetcost say they have seen a 150 percent increase in flight searches and 210 percent increase in hotel searches during the first quarter of the year. According to their figures and those supplied by the DGT in Spain, traveller numbers are already at the levels last seen in 2019.

Perhaps the most interesting statistic released by the company, is that holiday makers are spending about 30 percent more time searching for something a little different, perhaps more interesting and certainly a good offer. The latter driven by the increased cost of living across Europe, with more and more people being a little more careful with their spending.

Easter, the holy week for Spaniards, many stay at home to partake in the religious celebrations. But generally speaking, Spaniards prefer Madrid which is the city that is the top of their list. According to the data released by Jetcost, the most favoured destinations after Madrid and outside of Spain are Paris, Rome, London, Amsterdam and Lisbon.

The most popular long haul destination is New York which ranks a lowly 22^nd in terms of searches and holidays booked.

Jetcost’s Marketing Director, Ignazio Ciarmoli, stressed that Madrid continues to be “one of the world’s great tourist destinations, it offers good prices when compared to other cities, its rich in culture, has delicious gastronomy and no shortage of good hotels.”

Perhaps what isn’t surprising is that although the preferred destinations differ, the reasons for the choice are not that different.

With Spain recovering as one of the most popular destinations with European holiday makers, Easter promises to give a much needed financial boost to many areas.

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