Self-catering sector worth £1.9 billion to Spain’s economy

A STUDY of the vacation rentals industry in Spain by the ESADE Business School in Barcelona found that in 2014, more than 27 million tourists visited Madrid, the coastal areas of Majorca and Calpe, San Sebastian, Granada, and Barcelona – the areas that account for almost half of tourism in Spain. Of the 27 million, 3.7 million stayed in holiday rentals.

Gerard Costa, professor of Marketing Management at ESADE says: ‘We were able to verify for the first time in Spain that holiday rentals have been the vanguard of a form of tourism that is becoming a great global trend: foreign families seeking a convenient and comfortable house, consuming local commerce, valuing the deal with the owner as well as the fact that the money goes to an individual rather than a corporate chain, and recommending the experience.’

The study’s main findings:

•  Approximately 79% of the 3.7 million people who visited the key tourism areas and stayed in self-catering accommodation were foreign.

• The average number of nights they spent in rented accommodation was 7.4

• This type of tourism contributed almost €2.7 billion (£1.9 billion) to the Spanish economy in 2014

•   The average expenditure was €726 (£510) per tourist, of which €249 (£175) was spent on accommodation and €477 (£335) on activities, transport, and meals

•  Despite the growth of this holiday option in Spain, 73% of accommodation owners believed that current national and regional laws and regulations did not make renting out property to tourists an easy option.

Go Holiday news : www.govillasandcottages.co.uk

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