Alex Trelinski
TOURIST records tumbled on the Costa del Sol during the high summer season of June, July, and August- both for visitors and the amount of money spent.
Figures announced on Tuesday by the Tourism Costa del Sol president, Francisco Salado, revealed six million tourists and expenditure of €8.14 billion.
Visitor numbers were 4.8% higher than in the same period last year and 5.7% more than in the pre-pandemic summer of 2019.
Expenditure was up by 10.1% compared to 2022 and 30.5% higher than 2019.
Francisco Salado said: “It is true that income does not equal profitability, especially in these years when inflation has skyrocketed, but we are in a position to say that revenues have significantly exceeded the rise in prices.”
“The inflation increase from August 2019 to 2023 has been 16.2%, which is a lot, but tourism revenues have grown by 30.5%,” he added.
According to Tourism Costa del Sol figures, 3.5 million tourists arrived at Malaga Airport over the summer season in a record figure, and the number of travellers staying in the area also rose to 2.6 million.
Salado said that that fewer domestic tourists went to the Costa del Sol compared to last year, but the total was more than in 2019.
On the other hand, he pointed out that 11.1% more international tourists came to the area over the summer compared to 2022, which means that foreign tourism numbers have have virtually recovered to 2019 levels with just a 0.3% decrease.
