BBC reports on Brits’ Spanish love affair

6.5 million Brits visited Spain in the first six months of the year

Your trusty reporters here at VIVA have been saying it day in, day out for years, but now finally the guys over at the BBC have caught on and reported that British tourists are resuming their love affair with Spain… The BBC News website says that 28 million foreign tourists visited Spain in the first half of 2014, a rise of seven per cent on last year, according to figures from the Spanish tourism ministry. Citing ongoing unrest in Turkey and Egypt as a reason for Spain’s spike in popularity, the report also shines the spotlight on the impact Britons have been having on the country’s fortunes.

No other nationality has swelled Spanish coffers this year as much as the Brits, the report finds, with 6.5 million of us heading into Spain for our hols in the first six months of the year – or more than one million a month, on average.

Next up, the Germans could barely muster more than 4.7 million visitors, putting the British way out in front as the most important demographic for Spain’s tourism and property industries. However, while the percentage of German holidaymakers rose by 8.8 per cent, British visitor numbers only rose by 5.8 per cent in comparison, suggesting a fight for first place – and sunloungers – may be in the offing over the coming years.

Brits have fallen back in love with Spain in a big, big way.

“We never fell out of love with Spain,” travel journalist Simon Calder told the BBC. “But other countries, in particular Turkey and Egypt, have been aggressively luring us with lower prices. With capacity to Egypt sharply reduced because of the political problems, it is natural that some holidaymakers are going to revert to the safe haven of Spain.”

Editor at travel bible the Lonely Planet, Tom Hall, agreed, saying: “Spain was there at the start, but as all-inclusive package holidays became popular, it was places like Turkey that led the way. It took familiar destinations a while to catch up.” Adding that unrest elsewhere certainly played its part, Hall was more convinced in Spain’s ability to offer all the attractions at low prices that has turned British heads. “In the last few years we have seen a renaissance of familiar holiday options.

“People tried other places, then thought: the formula in Spain is pretty good.”

That winning formula has been going strong since the 1960s when Marbella and other Costa del Sol resorts began attracting British holidaymakers in their droves. But preceding the continent-wide credit crunch, many tourists had decided to test the waters elsewhere, only to start flooding back in the past 12 months as Spain recovered faster than many of its rivals.

The ongoing strength of Spain’s property market has also helped, and lower prices today – allied to returning investor confidence – has seen the Spanish real estate sector edge steadily back into the fast lane, with British buyers once again in the driving seat.

Figures from Spain’s General College of Notaries have revealed that sales of Spanish properties to UK nationals increased by 55 per cent in the first quarter of the year when compared to the same period last year, while online searches for properties in Spain have also risen by 51 per cent in the first half of the year, say Knight Frank’s Global Property Search.

So there you have it – Brits have fallen back in love with Spain in a big, big way. And with its stunning beaches, excellent climate, family-friendly vibe and range of affordable properties and resorts, who can blame them?