26 Aug, 2017 @ 10:07
1 min read

Brits lead the way as budget airline numbers to Spain soar by almost 20%

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SOME 49.2 million foreign visitors have flown to Spain in the first seven months of this year.

According to figures from the tourism ministry, the total figure is a 19.4% increase on the same period last year – and the majority of them have been on low-cost airlines.

Companies like Ryanair, Easyjet and Vueling that have led the way, capturing 52.4% of total air traffic, while more traditional airlines captured just 47.6%.

The UK led the low-cost arrivals with 9.66 million passengers, representing 36.8% of the total.

It was a 16.6% increase on last year.

The Brits were followed by Germany and Italy, both with 11.4% of budget arrivals.

Malaga Airport

Barcelona-El Prat airport accounted for 24.3% of all low-cost travelers during the first seven months of the year, up 8.2% to 6.3 million passengers.


Meanwhile Malaga airport, which registered 3.17 million low-cost passengers until July, a 14.1% increase, captured 12.1% of total traffic.

In July, the Costa del Sol terminal added 644,769 passengers, 10.3% more than in 2016.

By communities, Catalonia, the Balearics and Andalucia have benefitted most from the tourism boost.

Catalonia received more than seven million foreign tourists arriving by low-cost airlines, which represents 26.9% of the total number of travelers arriving by this route, 9.2% more than in 2016.

In July alone it increased by 6.9%, to over 1.36 million travelers.
The Balearic Islands is the second most benefited community with four million passengers by, 20.5% more than last year, capturing 15.4% of the total.

It is followed by Andalucia with 3.87 million passengers, a 13.5% increase.

 

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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