The statistics produced by the Secretary of State for Tourism and Trade, Pedro Mejía, at the ITB (Germany’s biggest travel and tourism trade fair) in Berlin this week, show that almost half the tourists who arrived in Spain from the country last year did so under their own steam. It is precisely this trend that is making certain tourist areas gain a percentage of the market at the expense of others, such as Andalucía, which lost 3.9 per cent of its German market in 2004 to other parts of Spain. Except for the Canary Islands, where the drop was 7.4 per cent, most other tourist areas in Spain witnessed a rise last year. These included the Balearic Islands (the destination of 37 per cent of Germans who come to the country), with an increase 10.2 per cent, and Cataluña, the choice of 13 out of every 100 visitors.
Mejía put the drop in Andalusian tourism - just when Germany is waking up from four years of lethargy - down to fierce competition and the impact of low cost flights, as the region receives fewer of these flights than the islands. “This is something that should be given special emphasis”, he pointed out.
He also explained some of the conclusions reached in the most thorough study ever carried out on the state of the German market: 217,000 tourists from the country were interviewed on arrival in Spain during the period 2000 to 2003. The new travelling habits revealed in the study became even more obvious in the arrivals statistics for 2004: one in every four passengers on low-cost airlines operating in Spain was German. This means that the increase in the number of travellers from Germany on these flights was 30 per cent, while from the UK it was only 23 per cent.
In order to attract these tourists, the Spanish tourist authority Turespaña, in collaboration with the authorities in Andalucía, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Madrid and Murcia, have orchestrated a promotional campaign which, for the first time, includes television advertisements for sun and beach holidays, a product which motivated 82 per cent of the Germans who came to Spain last year. Turespaña intends to invest a total of five million euros in this advertising campaign, of which 50 per cent will be spent on sun and beach promotion, and another 800,000 euros on advertising on Internet. In addition, other steps have been taken to reach 200,000 potential tourists, and 30 or so exclusive schemes have been set up with travel agents.
The other great challenge that the Secretary of State has thrown down is an attempt to persuade the Germans to spend more money in Spain. Mejía explained that the latest data show a drop in the income from these tourists in 2004 compared with 2003.
Prior to announcing these statistics the Secretary of State had had a busy morning on Sunday visiting the Spanish stands and taking a great interest in how each region was developing its tourist attractions and their keys to success. On the Costa del Sol Tourist Board stand he spoke to Lynn Mitchell, the international marketing director, who explained that the coast was one of the parts of Spain that had benefited from the recovery of the German market. However she stressed that the hotels had not benefited, and that overnight stays by Germans had, on the contrary, dropped by 11.4 per cent.
The Andalusian Department of Tourism, Trade and Sport has, however, decided to change the conditions for German travel agencies and large tour companies, demanding for the first time that tour operators should guarantee a certain minimum number of tourists. This condition was well received by the German tour operators. The director of Tourism Planning and Marketing in Andalucía, Ana Gómez, has confirmed that Tui, one of the biggest German tour operators, is going to increase the number of plane seats for flights coming to the Costa del Sol this summer, while Thomas Cook predicted moderate growth of two to three per cent.
On the other hand, Juan Antonio Martín, the manager of the Costa del Sol Tourist Board, commented: “Before coming here I thought that, maybe, we would receive two per cent more tourists from Germany this year but now I think that the figure is more likely to be five per cent.” His estimate was based on information from large, medium and virtual tour operators. The most optimistic was LTU - belonging to the third biggest group in the country, RWE - which claims to have 40 per cent more bookings for the Costa del Sol than in 2004.
Fewer properties in Spain
Although Germans have started to come to Spain on holiday again, the uncertain economic climate means that investment in second homes in the country is still low.
Unemployment is the highest it has been in recent years. The German chancellor, Gerhard Schröeder, was yesterday due to announce a series of measures to revive the economy, but not even those who have money in the bank dare invest in a second home on the Costa del Sol - or anywhere else in Spain for that matter. This announcement was made by José Prados, the chairman of the Malaga Association of Constructors and Developers, after several meetings in Berlin this week.
(source: Sur In English)
