More Northern Europeans coming to learn Spanish

12 October 2014

The Board of Tourism of the Costa del Sol and the Spanish tourism offices in the Nordic countries have organized a commercialization action to market the potential of the idiomatic segment to an important group of travel agencies in these countries. This action is aimed to improve the promotion of the product in their markets and is directed to educational agents, who were offered experiences in the destination having to do with culture, cuisine and networking activities with schools, after a rigorous selection of participating agencies.

Elias Bendodo, president of the Tourism Board, has valued the objectives achieved with this promotion, these being to enhance the Costa del Sol as a product designed to learn Spanish, and to analyze the demand and to investigate business opportunities in these markets. Among them, he mentioned Sweden where Spanish is becoming very popular and Malaga is one of the favorite destinations to learn it, alongside Barcelona and Madrid. Bendodo also spoke about the opportunities of a segment that has visitors who stay for extended periods of time and a significant multiplying effect that normally ends with the families visiting the destination and a high degree of loyalty.

The profile of foreign student arriving in the province is that of an upper middle class visitor, mostly from countries of Central and Northern Europe, with the majority from Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. They usually stay with Spanish families (41%), in apartments (22%) and in student residences (20%). The average age is 18 to 35, with by far the majority being females. Participants were very surprised by the changes and improvements experienced by the destination, which are aimed to enhance the idiomatic segment. Among those most valued by travel agents are new cultural attractions, direct connections, good weather, the environment, safety and beaches.