Brits Grabbing Spanish Package Holidays in Record Numbers

Brits Grabbing Spanish Package Holidays in Record Numbers

With the fantastic climate and wonderful Mediterranean cuisine

its no wonder more and more Brits are coming to Spain. 

One of the main summer staples of Brits is the idea of the complete package holiday. They offer a well-priced week or two in the sun for the whole family to enjoy. They’re also hassle free as travel, dining, and leisure is taken care of in advance. 

Spain has been the primary destination for Brits booking holidays across the past few decades. Even so, there have been a few times it looked like the country might have been about to lose their package holiday crown.

Cheaper alternatives emerged, such as Tunisia, Turkey and Bulgaria; placing heavy pressure on the Spanish resorts. Then came Greece, Italy, and Portugal; that offered something new and exciting for Brits to enjoy by virtue of being “not Spain”. 

This period of uncertainty was not to last however. Europe and the Mediterranean alike were hit by the global credit crunch. Even though Spain had a harder time recovering than other countries, the tourism industry wasn’t nearly as badly damaged.

As prices fell across Europe following a period of employment uncertainty and job losses, cash-strapped Brits stayed starved for some sun and fun, and they continued to prove their loyalty to the Costas. Spanish tourism remained strong between 2008 and 2013 – and even increased dramatically during 2014.

After a record-breaking 2016 Spain is ready and willing to welcome even more tourists during 2017. This is partly down to the unfortunate death of Egyptian and Tunisian reports as a result of security threats and terrorism – but a good majority of it is down to the excellent weather of the country, along with the affordability, accessibility, and high quality of the resorts in the country. 

British holidaymakers have always been fans of this combination, which would explain why the number of package holidays in Spain booked as of June 24 is already 270,000 higher than for the same point last year; at least according to the data from Gfk Leisure Travel Monitor. 

The statistic represents a growth of almost double that seen in Greece; the second-most popular package holiday choice for Brits. It also puts Spain well ahead of other favourite destinations including Croatia, the Caribbean, Cyprus, and Portugal.

The data also showed that holiday bookings for the USA, Egypt, and Turkey have fallen compared to this time last year. America can put this down to the Trump Effect, while Turkey and Egypt can put it down to terrorism concerns.

Spanish Holidays not Likely to Sell Out Despite Claims from Media

Spanish Holidays not Likely to Sell Out Despite Claims from Media

Costa del Sol is looking for another record breaking year

The British press are infamous for scare-mongering but every so often something comes along that people can’t help but believe because they’re so astonished by it.

This time the Daily Star was at the centre of the problem with their headlines about how apparently Spanish holidays are sold out after more people than ever booked a holiday.

Now it is true that Spain is seeing more holiday bookings and it’s also true that this is because British holidaymakers are going to Spain because more classic locations, such as Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt and Greece are becoming more unstable.

However it’s moronic to suggest that Spain could actually sell out and be unable to welcome any new tourists as part of the Easter holidays. Spain is great at bringing in millions more people in one go. They’ve always been good at handling the Easter surge as parts of the country are filled with Spanish tourists as well as European ones.

Hotels manage, roads manage, airports manage, and tour operators manage. Everything carries on. The only thing you’re likely to see is a small rise in prices during the really busy weeks. This is just how business works. Add in the extra space offered by services like AirBNB and private rentals and there’s really no truth behind the idea that a Spanish tourist shouldn’t be able to find a place in the sun.

The Daily Star managed to scare people even more by suggesting there was no more room on flights. They even had a RyanAir spokesperson suggest that they might potentially run out of seats. Do you really expect a company like RyanAir to actually say they have run out of seats and are not flying any more though?

The idea that there would be no more flights to Spain is ludicrous. There are plenty of good reasons that Spain is the top tourist destination. They have sun, sea, and a great lifestyle everyone enjoys. The reason that it’s stayed number one is because of how well it handles all these tourists. Spain may be busy but they always let anyone, no matter their age or background, come and find a piece of paradise.

It may get expensive to stay in Spain in the peak months but you’ll always find great value for money, security, convenience, great Beaches, peace of mind and you’ll be sure to find a lovely place in the sun. Spanish-Holidays-will-Sell-Out-2016

Spanish Holidays up 27% 2016

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has released figures showing that there has been a 27% in the number of British booking summer holidays in Spain. Many British tourist are turning their backs on the long haul flight and settling in southern Spain and Costa del Sol .

Costa del Sol

The Foreign Office has warned against travelling to places like Egypt and Tunisia and Turkey has become less desirable due to how close it is to the Syrian crisis. So now British tourists are deciding to play it safe and look a little closer to home for their fun in the sun.

The result is that old traditional favourites such as Spain, Cyprus, Portugal and Malta are seeing increases in bookings. Cities in Spain are ahead of the curve of course with the amount of people booking holidays already having the potential to break records.

The ABTA also revealed that the number of people choosing to travel to Turkey has gone down by a whopping 50%.

Travel Supermarket also released data showing that Spain is the most searched destination for people in Britain. People from other Northern European countries looking for some sun are turning away from places like Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia. Greece is also becoming steadily less popular and now the Western Mediterranean is seeing a rise in popularity with flights through Spanish airports expected to be at all-time highs.

Tour and flight operators like Thomas Cook have decided to scale back the amount of flights and package deals they have available for the troubled regions. They will now focus these efforts on places people are enjoying the sun and with so many attraction in Southern Spain to choose from like beach holidays with abundance of water sports in Spain, with some much on offer should, hopefully, bring the price of a trip to Spain down.

The Costa del Sol has over 800 kilometres of amazing coast line and some of the nicest beaches in Spain. with an average temperature of over 20C year round, its no wonder why so many tourist flock to Southern Spain and the Costa del Sol.