The Costa del Sol Achieves a Record-Breaking Summer with a 30% Surge in Tourism Revenue

This summer witnessed an unprecedented influx of tourists to the Costa del Sol, resulting in a historic boost to the local economy. Between the months of June and August, an astounding six million visitors poured into the destination, injecting over 8 billion euros into the region's economic bloodstream.

Francisco Salado, President of Turismo Costa del Sol, proudly announced that Malaga province had seen a remarkable 30% increase in tourism revenue, surpassing even the previous peak year of 2019. He stated, "We have experienced an exceptionally strong June, July, and August for the tourism sector. This summer saw the arrival of six million tourists, marking a 4.8% increase compared to the previous year and a 5.7% rise from pre-pandemic levels."

Salado noted that there is still a lot of optimism for the future and that "the data, especially for the next three months, is encouraging." The availability of flight seats to the Costa del Sol has surged by 23.4% for September, October, and November, with connections now extending to 122 cities and an expanded roster of airlines.

However, Salado acknowledged that domestic travel has not rebounded as strongly this year, attributing the slowdown to increased mortgage rates and rising inflation. Nevertheless, he emphasised, "We have nearly reclaimed the international travellers we had before the pandemic, with only a marginal 0.3% dip from the benchmark set by the Costa del Sol's previous best tourist year."

Key Markets

The United Kingdom emerged as the leading market for the Costa del Sol, followed closely by France, the Netherlands, and Germany. French, Dutch, and German tourists have all surpassed 2019 levels, recording impressive growth rates of 14%, 35.9%, and 12.8%, respectively. Furthermore, Italian visitors to Malaga province witnessed a substantial 22.6% increase this summer.