German tourists flood back to the Costa del Sol after a two-year dip

Germans are returning to the Costa del Sol in their droves following a lull since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The number of holidaymakers from Germany has been down 20% since 2020, but this year has shown signs that they are again choosing Malaga province as their go-to summer holiday destination.

According to data from Turismo Costa del Sol, some 353,543 German passengers arrived at Malaga Airport between January and June this year, just 31,000 fewer than in the same period before the pandemic, in 2019.

Germans are then using the Costa del Sol airport as a springboard into wider Andalucía, where figures also show a rise in German visitors across the region. In the first six months of this year a total of 314,219 visitors from Germany stayed in Andalusian hotels, equalling 1,232,967 overnight stays. The average length of stay was 3.9 days.

To help boost these figures even more, Andalusian tourism officials travelled last weekend to the Museumsuferfest event, in Frankfurt, to promote the region. The event, which returned after it was suspended due to the pandemic, is considered one of the largest outdoor cultural events in Europe.