What you need to know
Holidays to Spain reached record levels of volume and expenditure during 2016, buoyed by a general period of recovery in the overseas travel market and assisted by a slump in tourism in a number of competitor destinations affected by a series of terrorist incidents. Growth is likely to slow in the months ahead as UK economic conditions become more uncertain and inflationary pressures begin to squeeze consumer spending, but Spain is still expected to outperform many other destinations.
In the long term, however, the holidays to Spain market continues to face the long-term strategic challenge of how to diversify away from an over-reliance on mass market beach tourism in the Canaries, Balearics and Costas, and develop other regions and product areas, and how to shift perceptions of being a cheap and cheerful destination and raise spend per head among UK visitors.
