Russian tourism 50% up in Marbella

10 January 2014

Spanish tourists travelling throughout Spain have plummeted in numbers this year for each and every destination in the country and Marbella is not an exception. However, Marbella has had a great year, thanks to the growth in all foreign international markets, especially the emerging ones like China and Russia. José Luis Hernández, Councilor for Tourism presented information yesterday regarding the number of tourists who lodged in Marbella hotels. The year closes with a handsome 6% growth in number of visitors and 8% of overnight visitors, which shows that the average stay’s length has also experienced a welcome increase.

The main foreign market has been Russia, showing an increase of a massive 50% when compared with last year’s data. Almost 6% of tourists arriving in Marbella are Russian, which means, according to Hernández, that there is a large growth margin for this market in the town and as of now, poised to become crucial for Marbella in the next few years. Marbella has long been an internationally recognized resort with tremendous stability in the European region and the tourism board is working hard to transfer some of this confidence to the Russian and Chinese markets. Marbella is linked to these emerging markets principally by Malaga international airport.