Tourism InAndalucia Returns To Almost Pre-Pandemic Levels, Giving Food For Thought To Prospective Property Buyers

[Liz Seyi]

With significant numbers of people who buy property in Sotogrande through us doing so for investment purposes, it has heartened us lately to hear about the resurgent Spanish tourism sector – not just in the country as a whole, but also specifically in Andalucia.
As SUR in English and other outlets have reported, the tourism minister for Andalucia – Juan Marín – has described the recent hotel occupancy figures in the locality as “spectacular”.
The politician – who also serves as vice-president of the Junta de Andalucia – said that occupancy levels were now hovering at about 76% to 78% mid-week, and exceeded 90% at the weekend.
What else do we know about the tourism sector’s return to near-full health?
Continuing to look at the picture for Andalucia in particular, Marín also highlighted the notable number of last-minute bookings the region was seeing, explaining: “A lot of travellers, especially from abroad and because of the uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, want to visit places which are far from the conflict, and they have decided that Spain and Portugal are the answer.”
Indeed, Marín would be right to draw attention to the appeal of Spain in general for tourists at the moment. This much is evidenced by recent reports suggesting that February saw tourism in the country reach 71% of pre-pandemic levels.
For that same period, some 3.2 million international arrivals were recorded, while spending rates of more than €3.7 billion represented 78% of the expenditure levels seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data from the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE), as reported by SchengenVisaInfo.com, indicated that UK nationals were still the leading market for tourism, accounting for nearly a fifth (18.3%) of all arrivals. It was the French, however, who were the biggest spenders as tourists in Spain during February.
Reyes Maroto, minister for industry, trade and tourism, stated: “In February, the trend of recovery in international tourism has been consolidated, with a growth of more than 670,000 travellers compared to the previous month, which shows the perception of Spain as a safe destination. A trend that we expect to intensify significantly in the run-up to the first milestone in the 2022 holiday calendar, Easter.”
She added that the forecast for April was for Spain to recover to 80% of pre-pandemic international arrivals.
We can help you realise your dream of owning property in Sotogrande
Figures like the above paint an encouraging picture at a time when there is so much uncertainty, about tourism and the European and global economy in general. And they should certainly encourage you if you own property in Sotogrande that you make available to holiday renters, or if you wish to invest in an apartment or villa in this part of Andalucia for this purpose.
For a more detailed discussion of how we can help you realise your ambitions in relation to property in Sotogrande, please don’t hesitate to enquire to our experts at BM Sotogrande today, whether by phone, email or an in-person visit to our office in Pueblo Nuevo.

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