Euroweeklynews.com

RECORD numbers of tourists visiting the Costa del Sol last year have convinced the authorities that success in the future is guaranteed. Figures just released show a reversal of the trend which has seen the Costa’s share of tourism falling steadily in recent years, in favour of cheaper areas such as Greece, Croatia and the Czech Republic.

More than nine million visitors arrived last year, 6.1 per cent up on 2004 and the first increase for three years. It comes after the Costa del Sol Tourist Board and Andalucia’s regional government spent millions of euros trying to publicise the coast in European media.

Of the nine million visitors, 5.6 million were foreigners, mainly British and German. But the Spanish market is also on the increase and now accounts for 37 per cent of the total number of tourists, outstripping the British by three per cent.

Next year, 9,165,000 tourists are expected on the Costa del Sol as security fears abound at other destinations. Meanwhile, total tourist expenditure also rose by nearly 14 per cent to 3.96 billion euros compared with 2004, while the average stay was up to 11.8 days.

The average amount spent per tourist last year on the coast was 843 euros – nearly five per cent more than the previous year. For the first time, there are more than 1,000 hotels to stay in on the coast, with a total of 136,945 beds.

President of the Costa del Sol Tourist Board, Juan Faile, said: “We are continuing to increase the offer over demand,” referring to the 1,746 more hotel places and 16 new hotels which opened in 2005.

The main reasons for holidaying on the Costa del Sol were reported be the climate, ownership of a property and a fondness of the location, while complaints included the lack of parking spaces and soaring costs.