Antonio Díaz and Francisco Salado at a press meeting ahead of Fitur. SUR

Costa del Sol received record numbers of Spanish tourists last year

The destination received 10 per cent more visitors from elsewhere in Spain in 2022 than before the pandemic

PILAR MARTÍNEZ

Friday, 13 January 2023, 17:40

The Costa del Sol tourism industry goes to the Madrid International Tourism Fair (Fitur), between 18 and 22 January, armed with optimism, having registered in 2022 the all-time record for Spanish tourist arrivals, overnight stays and income.

Speaking at a press meeting the president of Turismo Costa del Sol, Francisco Salado, said we are "on the threshold of a new edition of Fitur which is going to be of vital importance, because the national market has been key in the recovery of tourism activity in the last two years".

The Costa del Sol will be at the fair with more entrepreneurs than ever, with its own 300-square-metre stand and with the launch of a new campaign for the domestic market in which the tourist board will invest one million euros.

The aim is to consolidate this growth that places Malaga province in a predominant position after receiving some 6,257,000 Spanish tourists last year: that is half a million tourists more, almost 10% above 2019 figures.

"National travellers represent almost half of the tourism on the Costa and have generated an economic impact of 6,779 million euros, almost 40% more than 2019, that is 39.7% of the total economic impact," Salado said.

Salado criticised the shortage of high-speed train arrivals to Malaga as "unacceptable and an insult compared to other destinations. In Malaga they have announced that they will increase frequency to 13 from this month, which still means that they are below the fourteen they had in 2019".