Costa del Sol is main reason why Andalucía is national leader for new hotel construction projects in Spain

Andalucía is the Spanish region with the most hotel construction and investment, new data shows.

New hotel construction and hotel refurbishment work will result in a record 2024 after projects grew by 64.8% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2023, according to a report by technology company DoubleTrade.

This growth in Spain has a name and a surname: Andalucía and the Costa del Sol. In the region alone, hotel construction has shot up by 85.3% compared to the first quarter of last year, reaching 76 operations, compared to 41 in 2023, the data shows.

These projects have involved an investment of up to 1.42 billion euros. But it is the Costa del Sol that is driving the investment where, according to the report, is the part of the region where the most important projects are destined for. Such projects include the Four Seasons hotel complex in Marbella, a luxury project spearheaded by businessman Ricardo Arranz and which is valued at 650 million euros. The start of construction on this resort, which combines a hotel, residential complex and villas with a beach club and top-quality restaurants, has already begun its countdown after having received final approval from town hall.

This is in addition to two other projects in Casares and Marbella, totalling a further 600 million euros, according to DoubleTrade. Xavier Piccinini, managing director of DoubleTrade Spain, said that "the huge activity in hotel construction and refurbishment is remarkable and could be a foretaste of a record year".

"This will attract millions of euros from foreign tourists, but it will also generate enormous business opportunities for different industries and for construction companies, which with a successful commercial strategy and advice from experts in business intelligence and analysis could make a quantitative leap in both their volume of work and their turnover," he added.

Record year

Following a strong 2024 in construction, the industry is facing a record year both in terms of the number of projects and the budget allocated to them. "This evolution would be a new milestone after last year's 11.9% increase in new construction and hotel refurbishments to 888 projects, for which 1,112 billion euros were allocated; 3.9% more than the previous year," Piccinini pointed out. In total, in the first quarter of this year, the investment for the construction of hotels exceeded 1,958 billion euros in 412 projects.

"The history and culture represented by different icons of Andalucía such as the Alhambra in Granada or the Giralda in Seville; the richness and gastronomic variety that characterise the Andalusians; or the kilometres of golden sand accompanied by warm temperatures on the coasts of Malaga, Almeria or Huelva, are factors that attract thousands of tourists from all over the world," Piccinini pointed out when referring to the attraction of Andalucía and the Costa del Sol.

The data shows a huge increase in the hotel offer that has added from 2019 to 2023 a total of 616 new establishments, with 12,413 beds - that is an increase of 5.2% and 7.2%, respectively. More than half of these new beds correspond to four and five star hotels.

Specifically, on the Costa del Sol, the number of beds at four and five star hotels has increased by 6,268. The data shows there are currently 2,820 more four-star beds on the market; 1,299 more five-star beds and 2,149 more grand luxury beds, compared to 2019. According to the DoubleTrade report, the trend is set to increase.