Cristina Hodgson
THE number of searches for flights to Malaga from within Spain has increased fivefold during the second week of June.
According to a report prepared by Turismo Costa del Sol, between June 9 – 15, the number of residents in Spain interested in travelling to Malaga Airport increased by 523% compared to the previous week.
Additionally, there has been a 70% increase in total flight searches to Malaga Airport during the same week.
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There were 43,969 online searches from Germany, 27,890 from the UK, 18,521 from Belgium and 13,137 from Russia.
Ryanair, EasyJet and Vueling are the main airline companies to offer flights to Malaga.
An estimated 822,862 airline seats are available to Malaga from the UK this year, 417,946 seats from within Spain and 210,453 seats from Germany.
Despite the positive numbers, searches are still 74% below the same week in 2019.
Regardless of the lower numbers compared to last year, the President of Tourism Costa del Sol, Francisco Salado, said he was optimistic over the recent increase in online searches, which was ‘unimaginable a few weeks ago.’
He said: “The important thing now is that these seats are occupied by the thousands of tourists who want to return to our destination.”
Salado has applauded the efforts of the professionals of the sector who have ‘made everything ready for the return of tourists to the area.’
He said: “The data give us hope for the recovery and reactivation of the sector.”
The stats come following the announcement from Spain’s Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez that visiting Brits would not have to self-isolate.
