Britons’ love affair with the Costa del Sol ‘surviving Brexit effect’

Observers wondering how the UK’s drawn-out departure from the European Union (EU) – currently scheduled to finally happen in late October – would impact on Britons’ longstanding adoration of the Costa del Sol will have taken much interest in a clutch of recent reports.

Spain’s largest English newspaper, EuroWeekly News, for example, reported that the region had just recorded its “best winter ever”, courtesy of the arrival of almost two million tourists between November and March.

No less intriguing to the Property Sotogrande team, though, was The Olive Press’s article that observed the first rise in the number of Britons registered on the Costa del Sol since the Brexit vote.

Good tourist figures also augur well for the continued health of the regional property market

In an indicator that demand for Sotogrande property for sale is likely to remain strong for a while to come – irrespective of what transpires with Brexit – Costa del Sol Tourism president Francisco Salado revealed that “it has been the best winter” for Spain’s south coastal destinations.

While the months concluding and beginning each calendar year are normally relatively quiet ones for this in-demand tourist region, late 2018 and early 2019 saw the Costa del Sol surpass its historic record for numbers of holidaymakers at this time of year.

More specifically, some 1.94 million people stayed in regulated establishments such as hotels, camps, tourist apartments and rural houses during this period, representing a 2.6% rise on the previous year’s figures. Especially intriguingly, the Spanish and British accounted for 60% of these tourists.

An uptick in British residents in this enchanting sunshine region

As for the report in The Olive Press, it stated that as of the end of 2018, there were 47,193 British nationals registered in Malaga province – an increase of 600 compared to 2017. This made it the first growth in the numbers of Britons living in the province since 2013.

With a recent royal decree having also been passed granting Britons in Spain a 31^st December 2020 deadline to apply for a Foreigner Identity Card that would give them legal status in the country post-Brexit, it’s clear that British nationals in the Costa del Sol now have plenty of reason to feel secure about their long-term futures as residents here.

Would you like to join them? If so, why not take a look around the Property Sotogrande website for great deals on currently available Sotogrande property for sale? It might be merely the first step that you take to a vibrant and sun-drenched future as a resident of one of the most sought-after, exclusive and rewarding areas of Spain.