Costa del Sol is striving to ‘win back Brits’ for summer 2023 holidays
Costa del Sol tourism bosses are fighting to get more Brits to visit the sun-drenched area after the coronavirus pandemic hammered their fortunes.
For decades the southern Spain coastal resort has been favoured by UK holiday makers looking for some cheap sun, sea and sand.
However in the past three years the steady stream of 'kiss me quick' hat wearing Brits has dried up a little.
Many of the establishments in the coastal region are struggling to get enough customers through the door despite Covid restrictions in Spain having now been completely dropped.
Hotels on the Costa del Sol closed 2022 with an occupancy rate of 70.75%, five points below 2019's levels.
Long Covid symptoms - 23 most reported signs from palpitations to vertigo
Tourism bosses are calling for improvements to the beaches (Getty Images/Flickr RF)Tourism bosses in Costa del Sol are calling for urgent multi-million pound improvements to the area as part of its bid to win a better share of British holidaymakers in 2023.
They say they are facing all sorts of obstacles, including a possible rise in coronavirus cases and deaths following the crisis in China, and the continent-wide cost of living crisis.
Hoteliers and tourism leaders insist investments have to be made, including improvements to the Costa del Sol beaches and roads.
The Association of Hotel Entrepreneurs of Costa del Sol says the the quality of the beaches has to be improved as they are in "a critical situation".
They are also searching for a solution to serious staff shortages which is partly being fuelled by surging house prices.
There is a shortage of waiters, chefs, kitchen assistants, cleaning and maintenance staff throughout the coast.
The coronavirus pandemic dealt a big blow to the tourism industry in the area (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)"It has been a good year in terms of employment but it has not been an easy exercise to manage," president of Aehcos, José Luque told Hosteltur.com.
"When it seemed that the health crisis was reaching its last stages, the outbreak of the the war in Ukraine turned the world upside down and the socio-economic consequences continue to shake the sector.
"And to this, we must add other difficulties such as the growing inflation of food and energy, the constant strikes and delays in the main airports and the rise in interest rates."
Of course Brits planning holidays to Spain will also want to take note of new passport rules in place since Brexit.
Covid infections spike in children but cases in the UK at its lowest in 4 months
For the majority of European countries, your passport must be issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the country (check the 'date of issue'), and it must also be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave (check the 'expiry date').
This includes holidays to Spain, with some Brits having been caught out by the little-known rules, meaning they were denied boarding at the airport and had holidays cancelled.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
