Tell me where you're from… and I'll tell you how you holiday
The Costa Blanca (Alicante province) welcomes visitors from 21 different countries according to recent statistics released by the provincial authorities.
Now research not only points out how many come from each country, but also what their vacational preferences are too.
As always, holidaymakers from the UK top the list. Last year 2,884,983 British citizens came to holiday on the Costa Blanca and despite the doomand-gloom forecasts over the consequences of the Brexit referendum, the figure as actually 14.6% up on that of 2016.
‘Tourist-watching’ appears to be the job of the Observatorio Turístico de la Comunidad Valenciana (roughly translated as Valencian regional tourism observatory). Without the cameras and binoculars used by bird-watcher or planespotters, the ‘observers’ focus on holidaymakers’ behaviour and trends to provide the tourism trade indication who they must target with their products.
Here are their conclusions depending on which nationality the holidaymaker is:
British
The British markets is the widest and therefore has a variety of ‘tourist categories’.
The basic Britons on holiday continues faithful to package holidays, but more and more are internet bookers and low-cost airline flyers. Top destination is of course Benidorm, although more and more are venturing north and south of Alicante. Free trips and family hotels are the most sought by Britons and of course fun in the sun (another strongpoint for Benidorm).
Meanwhile a significant number of Britons have a holiday home on the Costa Blanca which is used by themselves and family and friends.
The regional ‘observatory’ continues to use the term ‘residential tourism’, when in fact many live here more than in the UK.
British visitors are all-yearrounders, but spring and autumn months are becoming more popular. Winter visitors spend more time here and are generally in that ‘residential tourism’ category.
Norwegians
The majority of Norwegian visiting the Costa Blanca fall within the ‘residential tourism’ category having property in the area and even working here, mainly via internet with Norwegian companies. The Costa Blanca is the second most popular European destination for Norwegian tourists after the Canary Islands and large communities (such as Alfaz del Pi) can be found in the province. Over course the most favoured time for Norwegians to visit Spain is during the cold Scandinavian winter months.
Russians
Holidaying Russians on the Costa Blanca follow a similar trend to Spanish visitors, albeit with a larger spending budget. They are basically divided into two groups says experts: those who have purchased a holiday villa on the Costa Blanca and those who rent one.
Russians prefer to stay in quiet areas, thus Alicante city and bustling resorts like Benidorm are not top of their lists. They also demand good food, choosing products that are not readily available in Moscow or are far too expensive and of less quality that our local products: namely fruit, vegetables and fish.
Russians are also big fans of day trips to Guadalest, Calpe, Altea and shopping trips to Valencia or Alicante.
Icelandics
Some the big spenders on Costa holidays (their daily budget if around €94 per day, with an average stay of 13 days, the tally rises to over €2,400). The observatory reckons Icelandics seek a combination of residential areas, golf, sun and beaches. Alicante-Elche now has almost daily flights to Keflavik airport in Reykjavik. The number of tourists from Iceland was the largest is growth last year (over 90% increase in comparison to 2016)
Polish
One of the fastest-growing groups (61% up on previous year’s figures) thanks to Ryanair and Wizz air flights to Poland and airports near its borders. Polish families tend to holiday between April and October finding Costa beaches and gastronomy their main attractions. Excellent food with good variety of fresh fruits and vegetables grown locally are most appreciated by Polish visitors, who also highlight the Costa’s safety and good weather.
Swedes
Swedish tourists tend to do their own bookings on regular flights, are not fond on package deals and the majority stay in property owned on the Costas – only 20% are hotel customers. Security issues in Greece, Turkey and Egypt are still in their minds, which had made the Costa Blanca, along with the Canary Islands, their favourite Med destination.
Chinese
The more recent arrivals, Chinese holidaymakers increased in number by almost 20%, although they cannot be seen as a future marked just yet as they represent only 0.2% of foreign tourists visiting the Costa Blanca. However, the provincial tourism board has organised special trips for Chinese tour operators and reps to promote the area in this huge market. Top on the list of interesting sites they high lightened were Altea, Calpe, Santa Pola salt lakes and Alicante’s historical city centre.
Austrians
Experts view Austria as a potential market still to be enticed by the Costa Blanca, but figure look promising. The number of Austrians visiting the area last year increased by 32% and visitors have a large spending budget. So far they prefer the Canary Islands to mainland Spain and there is only one flight per week to Vienna. Tourism experts reckon flights with Austria should be increased to promote Costa Blanca there.