Spain Ranked Third-Most Popular Destination by World Tourism Organisation

Spain Ranked Third-Most Popular Destination by World Tourism Organisation

Southern Spain continues to be very attractive to all visitors

coming to Spain

The latest data from the UNWTO – Word Tourism Organisation – ranks Spain as the third in global tourism rankings for 2016.

The data showed that 68.2 million visitors flocked to Spain last year, putting it behind the USA (with 77.5 million visitors), and the first-place France, which saw a total of 84.5 million visitors from overseas.

The statistics from the UNWTO are a little different from other metrics as they record every visitor from a foreign country, rather than just legitimate tourists booking an overnight stay at the very least. This is the likely reason that France came in first, as many people pass through the country on their journeys to surrounding countries.

This doesn’t mean that France doesn’t have a strong tourism market though, it just means that France – which finds itself in the middle of the UK, Italy, Belgium, and Germany – is always going to deal with a lot of ‘visitors’.

Spain – on the other hand – has land borders with just Portugal, France, and Andorra – and it isn’t as large or as populated as France is. The UNWTO also published a separate set of data about the number of tourists per resident. This metric saw Spain beat France; drawing 1.4 tourists for every resident, beating the 1.25 France scored.

An interesting note is that Andorra – that small principality between Spain and France – that topped the charts for tourists-per-resident; drawing in a massive 33.5 tourists per resident.

As far as overall numbers go, Spain is just in front of China (56.9 million overseas visitors during 2016), Italy (50.7 million) and Turkey (39.4 million). The UK came in eighth for the total number of visitors, pulling in 33.4 million tourists during the year; just behind the 35 million of seventh-place Germany.

The top ten was completed with Mexico in ninth with 32.1 million tourists and Russia in tenth with 31.3 million.

The Spanish tourism sector is expected to continue to grow this year; growing 3.2% over 2016 figures.  Southern Spain and the costa del sol breaking all records.

Three Reasons to Jet to the Costa Del Sol in June

With the fantastic climate and Mediterranean lifestyle its

no wonder the Costa del sol continues to

break all records 

Three Reasons to Jet to the Costa Del Sol in June

There’s no such thing as a bad time to go to Spain, but – honestly – February and August are the two months that are the table up; albeit for different reasons.

The weather in February is too unpredictable in the Costa del Sol compared to the slightly colder but more stable February, or the drier and warmer March.

August sounds like a great time to visit, as there is plenty of sunshine, but there’s also a lot of heat and far too many people crowding the beaches, bars, and restaurants. The high seasons also brings higher prices for hotels and flights.

The pleasures of Spain should be enjoyed during the “shoulder” months of high season; which is May and October for the Costa del Sol; as June to September is considered to be the high season.

Most people will preach the perks of September, but given that the month comes after the peak of the summer, people who are a little more pessimistic will be drawn to May. The days are starting to get longer and warmer, the amenities are sparser, but there’s still plenty of custom to be found in resorts.

2017 brings with it three distinct reasons to grab your luggage and book the next flight to Malaga airport.

Reason #1; Avoding Election Fever

Whether you’re bored of all the discussion about what Brexit does and doesn’t mean, the upcoming general election, or an Irish person just tired of being so close to the political circus of the UK, a French person tired of all the election talk and what it all means, or a German who’s already sick of hearing about the September election, you’ll enjoy your time in Spain this May.

The country hasn’t been as politically calm or stable as it now in a long time, with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy getting reinstated and sorting out the economy and labour market. There’s no lampposts covered in posters telling you to vote, no endless political debates or other political discussions on TV, and almost no disagreement goes down at the bodega. Spain will spend May basking in serenity and the confidence that the future will be brighter.

Reason #2 To Grab Some Property

Spanish property was the biggest thing there was between 2002 and 2007. The prices were low, the quality was good, and the supply – and the credit to fund it – seemed limitless. These days off of buying a property off plan and flipping it before it had even been built are now long behind us.

The Spanish property of today still has plenty of the things that made it attractive before the boom hit; affordable, good quality properties in some of the most beautiful and accessible regions of the country. This time around though the prices are rising at an incremental pace, mortages are more sensible, and buyers are more mature. It’s the perfect recipe for sustained success.

Reason #3; The Deals

It’s much more expensive to fly to Spain between June and August compared to the rest of the year. The main reason is that these months are when European schoolchildren have their holidays. It leads to inflated costs of hotels, car hire, and other costs. The prices of package holidays tend to be their highest during the summer too.

If you can find the time to do it, then you can save a lot of money by visiting Spain in May. You won’t even ned to sacrifice much; you’ll pick up your tan, swim through the sea, and relax on the beach. You’ll also get all the food, fun, and views that come with the Costa del Sol; at a much lower price than just one month later.

May could very well be the best month to visit the Costa delSol, so enjoy it while you can!

Turkey’s Hotel Association Declares Spain Biggest Winner as Germans Head to the Costas

Turkey’s Hotel Association Declares Spain Biggest Winner as Germans Head to the Costas

With uncertainty around the world, tourists

continue to head to safe havens  of the Costa Del Sol 

The terrorism and political strife affecting Turkey is causing Germany holidaymakers to avoid the country according to TÜROB; the Hotel Association of Turkey. The benefactor of all of this has been Spain.

TÜROB say that bookings for holidays in Turkey from German tourists has dropped by 58% across the past 12 months, with holiday makers heading for Spain to enjoy the relative safety and sun.

Even though Turkish holiday resorts haven’t been hit by the same terrorist attacks as Tunisia in 2015, there is still plenty of concern about general security, with several attacks across the past 12 months in Istanbul, a failed coup during last summer, and an government on the verge of becoming a dictatorship.

Holidaymakers from Britain and Ireland have already been put off, which boosted the Spanish tourism sector to record numbers as people began to avoid Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt, and Greece to a lesser degree.

The Turkish hotelier has begun to notice that the bookings from Germany are also on the downswing. 2014 saw a peak of 3.9 million holidaymakers from Germany. The figure dropped to less than 2.5 million last year, and it’s expected numbers will fall again in 2017.

TÜROB prisdent Timur Bayindr commented that German bookings in Spain are quite high, there has been a sharp decline in the Turkish and Egyptian market. If there is a winner to be seen in this game then it is undoubtedly Spain.

Bayindir added Turkey expects that arrivals from the other EU nations – such as Spain, France, Belgium, and Austria – will continue to fall. However, he does expect a potential increase in tourism from Russia, Iran, and the Middle East.

The Germans have had a long-standing love of Spain, especially Majora. German tourists also tend to be the biggest spenders and stay longer than tourists from other European nations, making them great for the Spanish tourism business.

Brits Are Keeping Calm and continuing to buy spanish property

Brits are Keeping Calm and Continuing to Buy Spanish Property

Add caption

Even though there is a lot of political uncertainty in Britain right now – thanks to the Brexit, the upcoming election, doubts on Jeremy Corbyn’s ability to lead a party, and a surprising fascination with Theresa May’s ability to eat chips – it’s good to know that Brits are still enamoured with Spain.

Brits continue to consider Spain as their main choice when it comes to going on holiday or buying a home. The numbers of bookings for flights and hotels has already improved on the record-breaking figures from last year.

There has still been some concern that the political turmoil and the weakening of the pound following the singing of Article 50 (officially beginning Brexit proceedings) would cause a reduction in British demand for Spanish property.

Richard Spiegal of Spanish property portal Kyero believes that many brits stubbornly cling to their ideal of buying their ideal home in the Spanish sun.

It appears that Brits are adopting a familiar approach when it comes to purchasing Spanish property; that of “keep calm and carry on”. The Brexit process is – admittedly – going quite slowly, and the UK has been held hostage by the negotiation cycle, leading many to be in no hurry to give up just yet.

Spanish property expert Mark Stücklin spoke to the Guardian newspaper, saying that the uncertainty hasn’t helped by any means, but the best property markets of the country, such as Ibiza and Marbella, continued to thrive; drawing interest from Brits, along with other European countries such as Scandinavia, Germany, Ireland, and even further.

Over €2 Billion Invested Into Spain Through Golden Visa Scheme in Three Years

Over €2 Billion Invested Into Spain Through Golden Visa Scheme in Three Years

The introduction of the Golden Visa has been very sucessful

The Golden Visa in Spain – introduced to attract wealthy non-EU investors to the country in 2013 – has generated €2.16 billion for the country in a little over three years, according to the latest official government data.

Around 27,301 residency permits were granted by the government following the 2013 introduction of the Golden Visa.

The Golden Visa gives individuals and their families residence in Spain in return for them investing large sums of money. The minimum investment depends on the form of investment; including a minimum of €2 million invested in treasury bonds, €1 million in deposits or stocks, or a minimum of €500,000 in the Spanish property industry.

It won’t come as much surprise that the majority of the investments were made in real estate – both in residential and commercial property – as 72% of the €2.16 billion generated by the scheme went to the property market.

As far as the actual number of Golden Visas go, there have only been 12,891 issued. The amount of residency permits is much higher, as the wealthy individuals getting Golden Visas also secured residency for their families.

In terms of nationality, the Chinese and the Russians are the main ones taking advantage of Golden Visas, with 60% of all investors coming from these two nations.

China was ahead of the pack with 714 Chinese nationals getting their hands on Golden Visas since they were introduced. Some €716 million was invested by Chinese nationals in Spanish property, business ventures, and financial assets.

Russians invested €567 million themselves, for a total of 685 Golden Visas.

It took a while for the Golden Visa system to really get started. Only 530 took Spain up on their offer during the first year. The Spanish government made the Golden Visa more attractive in 2015 by allowing for direct family members – such as spouses, children, and elderly relatives – to be included on the visa. The residency period allowed by the visa was also extended to 5 years, up from 2.

The data from the Spanish government shows that over 1,700properties were purchased under Golden Visas. Around half of these (893) were purchased in Barcelona, with 348 purchased in the Malaga province; home of the Costa del Sol.