Brits snubbing Benidorm in favour of cheaper holidays to Turkey, Egypt and Bulgaria as Costa Blanca holiday bookings plummet
MORE Brits are snubbing Benidorm in favour of cheaper holidays to Turkey, Egypt and Bulgaria, as Costa Blanca holiday bookings fall.
Latest figures reveal almost 20 per cent of hotel rooms were lying empty this month, as the number of Britons visiting the coastal resort reached the lowest number since 2012.
The stats come from Benidorm, Costa Blanca and Valencia Region Hotel Association (HOSBEC).
Earlier this year, the Sun Online revealed that Brits had been shunning Benidorm in favour of alternative destinations such as Turkey and Egypt, despite terrorist attacks.
However, HOSBEC said that Britons remain “the main market in Benidorm, surpassing the Spanish”.
The coastal resort’s two-star hotels continue registering the highest occupancy (90.6 per cent in the second half of May) rate, followed by more up-market three and four-star establishments.
Tony Mayor, HOSBEC’s president, said that “at the moment, it seems that Brexit has no real effect on the occupancy data, although it remains a threat, along with the increase in fuel prices that can affect aviation.”
Its findings come as authorities have signalled a crackdown on thugs blighting the popular Costa Blanca holiday spot of Benidorm with obnoxious, drunken behaviour.
The area has followed Magaluf and Ibiza in barring troublemakers by blacklisting those arrested for behaving offensively or fighting.
DRUNKEN LOUTS
The tough measures were publicised in May after a growing number of hoteliers reported that they were fed up with drunken louts offending staff and fellow holidaymakers – or even trashing rooms.
Last month, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) revealed that Spain remains the “top spot for UK holidaymakers while visits to Mexico are up to 3,500 per cent since 1994”.
After analysing four decades of travel data, it found that while UK travellers still love package holidays, the type of trip and destinations have “changed significantly” since the 1970s.
Destinations that have seen an increase in popularity “include Bulgaria and Croatia. Trips to Bulgaria have doubled since 1994 and it looks set to continue… with bookings for summer 2019 up 16 per cent on last year.”
In April, Thomas Cook said in its holiday report that Brits were increasingly looking beyond Europe for their summer break.
While Spain was the number one destination for flights, countries such as Turkey and Tunisia were coming back in favour.
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The tour operator saw a 27 per cent increase in flight-only bookings to Turkey at the start of this year, overtaking Greece, which the tour operator said was the third most popular destination.
And Tunisia was the third most popular holiday spot for Thomas Cook before the devastating 2014 Sousse attacks.
It's made a steady move up the rankings since February this year, and is now the seventh most popular destination for Thomas Cook customers.
