British Holidaymakers Spent an Average of €48 Million per Day in Spain Last Year

British Holidaymakers Spent an Average of €48 Million per Day in Spain Last Year

Brits continue to flock to the Costa del sol 

Everyone knows that Brits love heading to Spain when they’re choosing a destination in the sun. It seems the Brits weren’t content with just being the main property investors and tourist group for Spain in 2017, as they were also – sort of – the biggest spenders.

As a collective British holidaymakers were spending an average of €48 million a day in Spain, which works out at around €2 million EACH HOUR. All in all, this figure accounts for 20.1% of all tourist spending in the country in 2017. Tourism spending reached a total of €86.82 billion in Spain, with Brits spending around €17.42 billion of that.

German tourists were barely spending more than Brits pre head, but their overall €12.2 billion spent in Spain puts them below the British. The reason for this was that there were more Brits than Germans in Spain 2017, with around 18.78 million Brits and 11.89 million Germans visiting.

French and Scandinavian tourists threw another €7 billion each into the Spanish economy last year, leading to tourism accounting for 11% of the GDP for the country; meaning tourism is one of the most important industries in Spain. 

The data comes to us from the Ministry of Tourism in Spain and shows just how important it is that Spain continues attracting city breakers, sun-seekers, hikers, golfers, and culture vultures to their shores.

Overall, a total of over 81 million people visited Spain during 2017, representing an annual increase of 8.6%.

Data Shows 48% of Brits who Moved to Spain Last Year were Retired

Data Shows 48% of Brits who Moved to Spain Last Year were Retired

Regardless of Brexit, Spain continues

to be the choice of retirees

The latest data from the Spanish Office of National Statistics (INE) showed around half of the 300,000 British citizens that moved to Spain in 2016 were retired. 48% of them were retired.

According to the data, three times as many Brits moved to Spain across 2016 than Spaniards moving to the UK. The demographics were also vastly different. Most of the Spaniards moving to the UK are aged 40 or under.

The amount of retirement-age Brits living in Spain has more than doubled across the past decade. Spain has become the destination of choice for British retirees because of the warm climate, affordable property, cheap flights, and EU membership, ensuring that pensions are index-linked to inflation and grow each year.

British pensioners also stand to receive free healthcare in Spain due to reciprocal agreements between Spain and the UK. The UK has become an attractive choice for young Spaniards seeking to advanced their careers and improve their English skills.

The data from the INE showed 22% of Brits registered in Spain were also employed in the country, with most of them working in hospitality or catering.

It seems that Brits like to live on the coast, with the Malaga Province – where the Costa del Sol can be found – is a perennial favourite; bringing in over 100,000 new UK immigrants across 2016.

The data also revealed Brits took an astonishing 13 million visits to Spain in 2016 (with a “visit” classed as any stay under 28 days), much higher than the 849,000 visits Spaniards made to the UK.

Data Shows Spain Made €60 billion From Tourists Last Year

Data Shows Spain Made €60 billion From Tourists Last Year

Spain broke all tourism records in Europe 

The latest data from the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) shows that tourism provided the Spanish economy with €60 billion across last year – which is more than for any other country except for the USA.

The difference is that Spain’s tourism numbers are growing, while America’s are contracting following the election of President Donald Trump. Not only is Spain’s tourism industry growing, but it’s growing at a rate higher than any other leading destination.

The figures from the UNWTO show that the US received €173 billion from tourism in 2016, which makes it the clear winner. Spain came in second, followed by Thailand and China for tourism revenue.

The UK – which came in third place in 2015 – dropped to seventh. The country made €29 billion from tourism, which is the lowest figure for some time. Experts believe that the Brexit – and the effects of the decision – are to blame for this drastic drop.

An interesting figure is that of France, which came in fifth place for tourism revenue in the world in 2016, even though UNTWO figures suggest the country received the highest overall number of visitors. This would suggest that people visiting France do so fleetingly; whether it’s because they are passing through the country on their way to other neighbouring countries, or just because they stay for a few days.

France topped the charts of overall visitor numbers thanks to some 82.6 million visitors across 2016. The US came in second with 75.61 million tourists, followed by Spain with 75.56 million visitors.

What is interesting is how quickly change is happening and the directions of the change. American tourism dropped 3% between 2015 and 2016, and continues to fall across 2017. France saw a 2% drop between 2015 and 2016, and it’s expected the fall will be greater this year following recent terrorism threats.

Spain, however, saw an increase in visitor numbers of 10% across 2016, and all the signs are there for an even stronger 2017; which could leave Spain clinching the top spot by the end of the year.

Average Spanish Property Values 2.3% Higher in June Compared to Last Year

Average Spanish Property Values 2.3% Higher in June Compared to Last Year

Costa del sol continues to be a great investment 

Data on the price of Spanish property from valuation firm Tinsa shows that the average selling price of property in Spain was 2.3% higher this June compared to June of last year, bringing the streak of monthly increases in house prices to 10 straight months. 

While the data from Tinsa doesn’t go into the actual average property price for each region, it does show the largest increases in prices are found in the coastal regions and major cities. The average property price for regional capitals was 4.2% for example, which is above the national average. While property prices increased an average of 2.4% across the Mediterranean coastline. 

When analysing the average house price across the first half of 2017, Spanish property prices were up 2.8% compared to the first half of 2016, with island property prices seeing the sharpest increase at 7.2%. 

The price increases will no doubt be welcomed because they are gradual and steady. There hasn’t been a price shock, spike, or crash across the past 18 months plus. It’s just been a consistent increase in demand, which means a consistent increase in price. 

These factors are giving economists and property experts alike plenty of encouragement. They can see for themselves an industry with plenty of foreign investment and a growth in domestic interest, as well as increasing confidence from businesses and lenders. 

This is the reason for the 2.4% increase in building licenses across the past year. It’s also why actual sales increased 23% year-on-year as of May, and mortgage approvals increased 10.4% in April – a figure that correlates with the decrease in unemployment as Spanish unemployment has fallen 10.7% across the past year.

Official Data Shows Spanish Home Values up 4% Over Last Year

Official Data Shows Spanish Home Values up 4% Over Last Year





The statistics unit of the Spanish central government released their latest figures recently showing that the property industry is going from strength the strength as the average price for residential property in spain increased 4% over the past 12 months.

Buying property in the Costa del Sol is on the

increase and will continue to grow.

The official figures look at many different kinds of monthly data, trends, and regional variations and they seem to show that just how the real estate market of 2016 has performed.



The data comes from information on deeds that were registered through the year, revealing that there was an increase of 3.5% of resale property values over last year, with new home builds being about 7.3% more expensive.



If taken on the quarterly basis then the figures represent an increase of 0.8% over the previous quarter, which is another encouraging sigh for the industry that these steady increases in property prices have become the norm now. It should also alleviate the fears of people on both ends of the spectrum; both the fear that prices are going up too much and that they have begun to stagnate.



The reality of the situation is far more reassuring and sober. There are still some stark regional differences, which is actually a good thing. While it’s true some prices fell a little in some regions, in particular Murcia, Castilla y León, and Communidad Valenciana, there were also increases in the more popular areas of Madrid, along with Catalunya, the Costa del Sol, and the Balearics. These increases show how much buyers value location and infrastructure.



The figures should offer people considering jumping on the property ladder in 2017 some encouragement as it’s expected that, as strong as 2016 was, 2017 will be even stronger to buy property in Spain and the Costa del Sol.