This is the profile of the average tourist on the Costa del Sol and what they want most from their holiday

The sun and beach offering on the coast continues to be the magnet that attracts tourists to Malaga province. This strong attraction is in evidence all year round and brings in the highest volume of visitors. But what is this average traveller really like? A Turismo Costa del Sol tourist board report provides the details of the profile and positioning at a national and international level for the seaside destination.

The study focuses on the main foreign markets of the United Kingdom, Germany and the Nordic countries. With data from Travellyze, a cloud-based tourism analytics platform, the study shows there is a marginal gender difference, with a female majority, especially for the UK with 57.7% of women travellers.

Age groups are extremely varied across the three markets, with a smaller proportion of travellers aged 18-24 and over 75, representing less than 10%. Half of the travellers are married or living with a partner, and have a high level of education.

The purchasing power of visitors who come to the Costa del Sol to enjoy the sun and the beach has long been questioned. This study reveals that the travel budget remains the same with 35% of tourists from the three markets spending between one and three thousand euros.

The main sources of inspiration for planning a holiday on the Malaga coast are family and friends in the first place, followed by search engines and review websites in the case of the British.

The main attraction is to go to the beach, although these tourists are very conscious of cleanliness and sanitary standards, especially tourists from the United Kingdom, who account for 30% of arrivals at Malaga Airport.

As for the accommodation preferred by these visitors, three and four-star hotels stand out as the favourite option. "An alternative chosen by more than 50% in the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom, while in the German market the volume of travellers who choose to book holiday homes is very high.

The report also makes it clear that the high season period is becoming longer and longer. For trips of less than five days, June is the most popular month in all markets. Similarly, for longer trips, August is the most popular month in Germany and the UK, and July in Scandinavia. In these countries, visitors tend to arrive at the destination after purchasing a package tour including accommodation and flights from online travel agencies, with the exception that a significant proportion of Germans prefer to book directly through the destination's website.

The data pointed out that there is still some way to go in terms of the positioning of the Costa del Sol in order to improve the perception and image of the destination; among the international competitors, Italy and France stand out, while the Canary Islands stand out among the national competitors.

The study included among its conclusions "the importance of focusing promotional efforts on travellers who do not know the destination, with the aim of increasing the perception and the number of visits". It also noted that the experience of travellers to the destination is very positive, however the perception of the destination receives a less favourable rating.