British tourists lead the way in Costa del Sol's thriving holiday market

The Costa del Sol has reaffirmed its position as a top destination for British tourists, with the latest data highlighting its continued dominance in the international tourist market. According to Francisco Salado, President of the Malaga Provincial Council and Costa del Sol Tourism Board, a total of 821,907 British visitors chose the Costa del Sol for their holiday between January and August 2023.

While the figures for 2023 show an improvement over 2022, they have not yet reached the record levels seen in 2019, as explained by Salado. Nevertheless, the market is steadily recovering year by year. Compared to 2022, this year's numbers reflect an increase of 8.3% but are still 7.7% below the figures from 2019.

In terms of overnight stays, there were a total of 4,252,739 in the aforementioned period this year. This represents an increase of almost 6% compared to 2022 but remains 10% below the booming numbers of 2019.

An increase in the arrival of British tourists at Malaga airport was also observed between January and August 2023, added Salado. Specifically, 1,830,505 British tourists were recorded. Compared to 2022, this data has increased by 12%, but it is still 10.7% lower than the numbers from 2019.

Salado pointed out that Malaga Airport is the third most popular airport in Spain for travellers from the UK. Only the Balearic Islands and Alicante received more British tourists, with the Andalusian facility ahead of airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, and Tenerife.

The President of the Provincial Council highlighted that this was due to Malaga Airport's competitiveness, with connections to 17 cities in the UK, where the highest number of travellers departed from airports in London, Manchester, Bristol, and Birmingham.

When comparing these figures with data from other provinces in Andalusia and national statistics, Salado stressed that Malaga enjoys unbeatable leadership in the British market. Of all travellers passing through Malaga, 70.3% were from the United Kingdom, while only 9.3% were Spanish nationals.

Overnight stays in Malaga accommodations included 79% British guests and 8.5% Spanish. The arrival of British travellers at the Costa del Sol airport represented 88.3% of the total figure and accounted for 12.5% of the entire country.

Analyzing this data, Salado pointed out that as overnight stays are increasing, so are expenses. Malaga has succeeded in becoming a destination of "more quality and less quantity," attracting increasingly discerning tourists. He expressed confidence that "in 2024, we will reach the 2019 data, just as we have already achieved with the German market."