The Costa del Sol Would Like to Keep Hold Of It’s
Important British Clients
 |
| Lest face it the Brits are wanted in Spain |
There are only a few people who believe that a Brexit would
have a major impact on property purchases or tourism in Spain. It’s such a
major destination people will come anyway. Having said that, the Costa del Sol
is still worried about losing their mist important clients; the British. Most
of the tourism in Spain comes from Britain after all.
All the figures will tell you the same thing; British
tourists flock to the Costa del Sol, even if not for very long. Roughly one
million Brits will only spend one night there but it all adds up. Brits also
make up a majority of their real estate market, making up roughly 20% of the
market. This is according to the ACP Constructions and Developers Association
of Malaga.
With all of this in mind it’s easy to see why no one wants
to think about the major damage that could be caused by Britain leaving the EU.
The President of the Aehcos Hotel Assocation on the Costa del Sol said in a
statement to the World Travel Market that he believes that Spain has something
for everyone. He says that the British have always loved Spain because of the
climate, security, and facilities. He sees no reason why this close
relationship needs to end.
The Spanish hotel and development sector believe that the Brexit
will fail. If it passes and Britain does leave though then they need to put
some agreements in place to keep the British coming to Spain for holidays and
property purchases.
Sources at the ACP said that even though Russia has never
been a part of the EU they have always been major investors in second homes on
the Costa along with Brits.
Malaga saw over three million British tourists arrive last
summer. Hotels all across the Costa del Sol brought in 12% more British
customers when compared to 2014. So many Brits came to Spain that 1 in 4
tourists to Spain came from Britain. Overall more than 15 million Brits came to
the country and, altogether, left roughly 14 billion euros behind, both figures
up from the previous years.
Costa del Sol tourism authorities and information say that British tourists
spent an average of 1,183 euros last summer, an increase of 11% over 2014.
British tourists make up such a large part of the Spanish economy it would be a
disaster if the supply was cut off.
British politicians across all parties have been cautioning
people about the Brexit with messages for expats in particular. David
Lidington, the Minster for Europe, said that Brits could even lose the right to
live in Spain if the right agreements were not made.
Brits also need to consider the cost of travel if a Brexit
was to occur. Airlines such as EasyJet have confirmed that their airfares to
Europe would rise in the event of Britain leaving the EU.
