Tourism boost for property as rentals are preferred choice

WHILE hotels and guest houses are still the number one choice for tourists to stay in, the private rental market is getting ever more popular.
For people looking to buy a home and let it out to holidaymakers it is good news that 14 per cent of tourists visiting Spain last year (3.7 million) stayed in private houses and villas.
Those tourists spent more than €2.68 billion with around €900 million of that going on accommodation expenses. The rest went on spending money.
These figures have come from a study by Esade along with the Spanish Federation of Associations of Touristic Housing and Apartments (Fevitur) plus Salvetti & Llombart.
For the report a total of 775 tourists and 445 holiday homeowners were questioned around Spain. A third of the tourists said they would not consider a holiday in an area without available holiday homes as they did not want to stay in hotels.
The co-author of the study, Mar Vila said that most (79 per cent) of these tourists were foreign, aged on average 47 and with families.
With record numbers of tourists arriving this year property market professionals are hoping that this may help stimulate the housing market. Low prices for homes coupled with a potential source of income make Spanish property an attractive investment for many.
The study showed that of the property owners surveyed the majority had just one holiday home to let out and 98 per cent of their bookings came through the internet.