We are flocking to Spain for our holidays in greater numbers than ever before. But forget the old annual fortnight's package holiday. Now we want to hop on a low-cost flight to our own home in Spain - preferably, for two thirds of us, on the Costa Blanca or Costa del Sol - and we want to visit it at least four times a year with friends and family. These are the findings of a new report by Lighthouse Spain, which caters for 'residential tourists': people who have shifted from spending package holidays to buying a holiday home there instead.
While the Spanish property and construction markets boom, along with local services catering for residential tourists such as furniture shops, supermarkets and restaurants, many hoteliers are hanging up their room keys in despair as they watch 14 million Brits each year head to Spain, only to see 4.1 million of them last year stay in a property belonging to friends or relatives instead of in a hotel.
"Spain is by far the number one destination for residential tourists and the Costa Blanca is particularly popular because of its excellent year-round climate, good infrastructure and extensive expat communities," says Shaun Powell, Managing Director of Lighthouse Spain, which works with a network of ethical Spanish estate agents to sell holiday homes to British and other Northern European buyers.
"In Costa Blanca, especially in the south of the region, you still have a large choice of properties available from 100,000 euros, so people who have been priced out of the Costa del Sol can still afford a Spanish holiday home on a popular coastline," adds Powell. "Home owners have the added benefit of being able to rent out their home to other holidaymakers so their property is a source of enjoyment and investment."
The Costa Blanca has been a bastion of package tourism since the 1960s. But now it has become a hub of residential tourism, with Alicante airport witnessing passenger numbers from the UK rise by 30% in 2003.
Colin Pinfold from Sutton on Sea, Lincolnshire, is a typical residential tourist. Having spent many package holidays on the Costa Blanca in the past, he and his wife now want to retire there permanently and have just bought a 140,000 euro townhouse in Torrevieja through Lighthouse Spain