Spain´s Costa del Sol was visited by more than 4 million visitors up to September this year
The number of visitors to the coastal area so far to September is only 2.5% down from pre-Covid levels in 2019 – and that itself was a bumper year.
According to Francisco Salado, president of the Costa del Sol tourist board, there were 20% more Spanish tourists who made hotel reservations in September 2022 compared to the same month last year.
He also noted that this year has seen an increase in visitors from countries including France, the Netherlands, and the United States, with Dutch visitors up 8.2% and Americans up 6.2% from the previous year. Additionally, there were more guests from Poland, Portugal, and Denmark.
He added that several markets have yet to recover from the pandemic, including two of the Costa del Sol’s largest source markets, the UK, which has seen a decline in tourism. As a result, he warned that now is not the time for the tourism authorities to let their guard down.
Spain´s Costa del Sol extends along more than 150 kilometres of coastline in the province of Malaga, in the southern Iberian Peninsula. The destination remains a firm favourite for British expats. Over recent years there has been a noticeable increase in French, Finnish and Norwegian tourists.
Nearly 20 million visitors helped the economy of tourism, particularly the hotel sector, in 2021 as national tourist arrivals—including those from Andalucia—rose significantly.
Of the 20 million, 77% were citizens of the United States, with roughly half of those citizens being Andalucian residents who traveled throughout the region and benefited the economies of their destinations but not those of Andalucia.
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