Sizzling summer on the Costa del Sol with a forecasted 10% growth in visitor numbers
Summer on the forever popular Costa del Sol is set to sizzle with a forecasted 10% growth in both the number of visitors and tourist generated revenue this season with the President of the Costa del Sol Tourist Board, Elías Bendodo estimating that tourist generated income is expected to reach €1.2 million over the summer months.
In a press conference Bendodo stated that the glorious ‘Coast of the Sun’ is reaping the benefits from tourists who have chosen the Costa del Sol this summer, with the majority of visitors arriving from Britain and Germany. In spite of this positive outlook, Bendodo wishes to push tourism further focussing his attention on Spanish culture, cuisine and residential tourism as well as encouraging foreigners to spend their retirement on the sun drenched Costa del Sol.
Indeed, the growth in tourist numbers will be cheered on by Costa del Sol hotel owners with overall hotels in the area expecting occupancy levels to increase by 4% this year compared to 2010.
And there is even more good news for the golden coast with a second runway now ready and expected to be in operation from January 2012 at Málaga Airport, vital to cope with the increase in passengers expected over the coming years. The new runway will help double the airports number of take-off and landing operations from 37 to 72, with as many as 9,500 passengers able to arrive or depart every hour, accumulating to around 30 million passengers a year.
Of course, it is simple to see why the Costa del Sol is so perennially popular with its dazzling blue flag beaches and cultural and historic offerings in cities like Malaga, a city said to be attracting tourists with more spending power than the rest of the Costa del Sol according to the local Tourism Observatory with the average expenditure of visitors spending up to €74.6 per day, well above the average of €50.4 per day for the rest of the province.
Conversely, tourists who are looking for the more luxurious side of life will look no further than the sleek and sophisticated town of Marbella. In a class of its own, Marbella is one of the most exclusive and sought after areas of Spain, bursting with hip boutiques, chic restaurants and pumping nightlife. Furthermore, it is well documented that the trendy town attracts the rich and famous and this year, glitterati stars Antonio Banderas and Eva Longoria will be holding the Starlite charity gala in Marbella on August 6th in response to the success of last year’s event which saw 500 people attend the €1,000 -a-head gala held at the Villa Padierna.
Nick Stuart, Managing Director of Spain’s first and premier internet estate agency, Spanish Hot Properties comments,
“Summer on the Costa del Sol will be a hot one in terms of visitor numbers this year. Certainly with the mostly disappointing summer weather in northern Europe as well as the strife in the Middle East, a bigger proportion of tourists have decided to make the reliable and reassuring Costa del Sol their summer holiday escape. Indeed, the increase in Dutch and Scandinavian visitors as well as the loyal British travel market has certainly helped with the turnaround in Costa del Sol tourism.”
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For more information on purchasing a slice of heaven on the forever popular Costa del Sol please contact Spanish Hot Properties on 00 44 207 558 8355 or visit www.spanishhotproperties.com.