Men spend £400 in preparation for Marbella holiday, survey finds

Pampered and champered: British men heading to Marbella are happy to splash the cash in order to make the right impression.

Long gone are the days when men collectively believed that ‘knotted hankie on head’ was the only holiday attire necessary, and a new survey has revealed just quite the extraordinary lengths many men now go to when preparing for a holiday in Marbella…

The poll by Gala Bingo has found that 19 per cent of men spend £400 on beauty treatments, new clothes and tanning before heading to the fashionable holiday destination – an incredible amount that only eight per cent of women also spend.

Perhaps inspired by the toned and preened cast of TOWIE, Marbella-bound metrosexuals feel that they have to get in shape and look beach-body-ready before heading to the airport, and are happy to spend the pounds in order to make the right impression.

But only when headed to Marbella. The same poll found that men who are preparing to travel to Italy, Portugal and France will spend a mere £50 in advance.

The Gala Bingo survey was launched in order to find the UK’s “Most Marbs Person”, and found that more than one in four Brits who have visited the resort spent more than £200 on beach preparations alone.

“It’s interesting that our research has shown TOWIE has influenced many holiday-goers, and made them want to enjoy the glamour of Marbella,” said Gala Bingo Brand Director Alison Digges. “As we’re currently running a competition for one lucky person to go Galalala and win a five-star inclusive holiday to Marbella, we thought it would be fun to look at the lengths UK adults go to when prepping for a holiday there.”

Renowned for its wild parties, stylish night clubs and laid-back beach bars, Marbella has been a magnet for the young and the beautiful for decades, but the recent popularity of TOWIE – and the show’s links to the resort – has seen its stock rise over the past few years, especially among those, shall we say, more body confident individuals who can’t wait to flash the flesh under the scorching Spanish sun.