The Costa del Sol reaches 12.5 million tourists
“Hosteltur” article of 12 of January 2018
English translation
The Costa del Sol closed 2017 with a new record, reaching 12,437,000 tourists, representing a growth of 6.4% over the previous year, which was historic, and an economic impact of 13,830 million, 9.5% more.
“We have closed 2017 with the figure that we thought years ago was unattainable,” the president of Tourism Costa del Sol, Elias Bendodo, said at a press conference, which anticipates that the upward trend will continue in the first quarter of this year, in which is expecting a cumulative growth of 2.5 percent.
The analysis of the main indicators of the sector in 2017 shows the dynamism of the international market, with an increase of 8.2 percent of travelers, and the “clear recovery symptoms” of the national market, whose tourists grew by almost 4 percent.
Arrivals of passengers by plane grew by 12 percent, with 8,765,946 travelers; in AVE, 4.1 percent, for a total of 825,788 and in cruise ships, 18.3 percent, to account for 433,626.
Issuing markets
Bendodo pointed out that the airport shows double-digit growth in passenger arrivals in the main international markets, such as Sweden (41.4%), the Netherlands (29.7%), Italy (27.8%), Denmark (16.2%) or Germany (13.1%).
As for the national market, it has indicated that the Costa del Sol received 5.1 million Spanish tourists last year -mostly from Andalusia, Madrid, Catalonia and Castilla y León-, with an impact of 4,374 million euros.
Downward figures in hotels
The president of Tourism Costa del Sol has played down the decline in travelers (6%) and overnight stays (11.3%) in hotels in the national market, which contrasts with the increase in tourists (23.3%) and nights (21, 4%) in non-hotel establishments.
In his opinion, the destination follows a “general trend”, in which many tourists currently choose not to stay in hotels, as there is a “more diversified” offer.
Promotion in Fitur
The International Tourism Fair (Fitur), which takes place next week in Madrid, will be the opportunity to “definitely confirm” the recovery of this issuer, he said.
In this fair, the destination will vindicate the “leadership” of its main segment, the sun and beach and will impact on the tourism of interior, golf, cultural and gastronomy.
About 150 businessmen will accompany the Malaga institutional delegation in this meeting, which is expected to hold a thousand professional meetings.
The central act of presentation of the destination will be held on the 17th at the Intercontinental Hotel in Madrid, with the attendance of 250 guests, mainly representatives of tour operators, tourist offices and airlines.
Original article: https://www.hosteltur.com/126014_costa-sol-roza-125-millones-turistas.html