END BENIDORM
UK tourists snubbing Spanish resort
PAYING A HIGH COSTA: Benidorm is in a slump
NEARLY 500,000 British holidaymakers have turned their backs on Benidorm.
The Spanish resort used to be so popular with UK tourists it spawned the smash-hit comedy of the same name.
But now Brits are shunning the Costa Blanca town and opting instead for cheaper alternative trips to Turkey and north Africa.
Benidorm’s hotel association Hosbec revealed that between January and September 420,000 fewer people from the UK visited compared with last year.
In September alone, the number of tourists was down 41,400 – a 7% drop – on 2017. The slump has hit bars, restaurants and shops, with some having to close.
The biggest fall in visitors came from Manchester Airport, which recorded 12,026 fewer people flying to the resort.
Meanwhile, Antalya in Turkey sold 60,000 more holidays to Brits this summer than last year.
Egypt also boosted its sales, by 58%, and Tunisia reported a surge in tourists following the resumption of flights which were suspended after the Sousse massacre.
A Hosbec spokesman said the number of Brits holidaying in Benidorm was “in free fall”.
He added: “The data leaves no doubt. Hotel occupancy maintains the downward trend and the figures are the worst in recent years.’’
Tourism chiefs blame air ticket price rises of up to 11%, and crime.
Some holidaymakers have told on social media how they were targeted by pickpockets as they left the resort’s airport.
Others said their hotel safes had been raided or they had been attacked by aggressive gangs of sex workers who target groups of men on boozy nights out.