‘España, te quiero’ say the Irish

MORE Irish holidaymakers travelled to Spain this year than they did to France, Portugal, Italy and Germany combined.  

More than one million Irish made Spain their destination of choice during 2014, with just five preferred areas accounting for 90 per cent of all Irish tourism to the country. The Canary Islands, Andalucia, Cataluña, Valencia and the Balearic Islands are the firm Spanish favourites with Irish visitors, who only travel in larger numbers to the neighbouring UK.

“Ireland and Spain are well connected through air travel with over 1.2 million seats sold by airlines so far this year,” said Gonzalo Ceballos, director of the Spanish Tourism Office in Ireland, who released the latest figures.

“More than anything I think the welcoming nature of the people, the culture and relaxed atmosphere attracts and binds Irish and Spanish people and makes it a natural choice.”

Sunny June and July remain the most popular months for Irish holidaymakers to travel to Spain, but September 2014 saw an 8.5 per cent rise on the previous year, with 145,000 Irish visitors making the journey to Spain.