25 August, 2016

By VIVA Team

One in four hotel rooms in Spain had a Brit in them throughout the month of July – that’s dedication.

The Brits are a hardy bunch, and woe-betide anyone, or anything, that stands between them and their annual sunny summer holidays.

Despite the Brexit vote in June serving to drag down pound sterling to almost parity with the euro (indeed, it was reported a few weeks ago that some airports had been exchanging the pound for below the value of the euro), British holidaymakers have continued flocking to Spain in their droves, with data published this week by the Office of National Statistics (INE) showing that Brit visitor numbers to Spanish hotels are up a massive 15% in July…

According to the INE, 27.4% of all hotel rooms across Spain in July were occupied by British guests, and this despite prices rising on average by 6% since last summer. Spain’s traditional summer lure has been stronger this year than ever before, with the INE saying that hotel occupancy rates nationwide are at record levels.

On the Costa del Sol, a perennial favourite among sun-starved Brits, occupancy rates in July were a whopping 79%, with the Hotel Owners’ Association of the Costa del Sol (AEHCOS) expecting that number to peak in August at 85% before falling to a still-impressive 75% in September.

This summer spike was well predicted after Spain got off to a scorching start to the year. Between January and April visitor numbers increased 13% on the same period in 2015, reaching 18.1 million. Hence, Spain is on track to easily surpass last year’s record tourist numbers – and it is thanks once again to British holidaymakers’ loyalty to the country that such figures have been achieved.

Other nationalities have also increased their visitor numbers in Spain – German visitors increased by 4.1%, French visitors by 8.8% and Dutch visitors by 3.8% – but what is remarkable is that Spain has not become more expensive for eurozone visitors but has for visitors coming from the UK.

With a weaker post-Brexit pound, some experts had predicted visitor numbers for Brits to tail off. Instead, they have risen faster than any other nationality, while the average daily spend has also remained stable.

The impact of British visitors to the most popular parts of Spain is usually a positive one for the local economy. Brits also make up the largest portion of overseas property owners, and a recent Costa del Sol Market Report 2015 by real estate consultants Aguirre Newman has found that Brits comprise the bulk of the 75% of foreign nationals that account for property transactions in Marbella and the surrounding areas.

The report also found that the average time that an apartment or villa remains on the market in the region has reduced by 50% over the past 12 months.