Residential Tourism In Costa Blanca

Residential Tourism In Costa Blanca
By Zoe Dare Hall, Mon Dec 26th

We are flocking to Spain for our holidays in greater numbersthan ever before. But forget the old annual fortnight's packageholiday. Now we want to hop on a low-cost flight to our own homein Spain - preferably, for two thirds of us, on the Costa Blancaor Costa del Sol - and we want to visit it at least four times ayear with friends and family. These are the findings of a newreport by Lighthouse Spain, which caters for 'residentialtourists': people who have shifted from spending packageholidays to buying a holiday home there instead.

While the Spanish property and construction markets boom, alongwith local services catering for residential tourists such asfurniture shops, supermarkets and restaurants, many hoteliersare hanging up their room keys in despair as they watch 14million Brits each year head to Spain, only to see 4.1 millionof them last year stay in a property belonging to friends orrelatives instead of in a hotel.

"Spain is by far the number one destination for residentialtourists and the Costa Blanca is particularly popular because ofits excellent year-round climate, good infrastructure andextensive expat communities," says Shaun Powell, ManagingDirector of Lighthouse Spain, which works with a network ofethical Spanish estate agents to sell holiday homes to Britishand other Northern European buyers.

"In Costa Blanca, especially in the south of the region, youstill have a large choice of properties available from 100,000euros, so people who have been priced out of the Costa del Solcan still afford a Spanish holiday home on a popular coastline,"adds Powell. "Home owners have the added benefit of being ableto rent out their home to other holidaymakers so their propertyis a source of enjoyment and investment."

The Costa Blanca has been a bastion of package tourism since the1960s. But now it has become a hub of residential tourism, withAlicante airport witnessing passenger numbers from the UK riseby 30% in 2003.

Colin Pinfold from Sutton on Sea, Lincolnshire, is a typicalresidential tourist. Having spent many package holidays on theCosta Blanca in the past, he and his wife now want to retirethere permanently and have just bought a 140,000 euro townhousein Torrevieja through Lighthouse Spain.

"I've been looking at the Costa Blanca since the children lefthome and when we went out there recently the agent wasbrilliant. He drove us everywhere for five days, took us formeals, sorted out a lawyer and opened a bank account," saysPinfold. "We're moving out there as soon as we've sold our housein England and we'll see our kids and grandkids far more. Ittakes them five hours to drive to see us in Sutton on Sea. It'llbe quicker for them to fly to Alicante."

Jackie Gulliford, who works at Oxford University, and herhusband, a teacher, are looking at properties with LighthouseSpain in southern Costa Blanca with good rental potential. "Weused to own a property near Cadiz with another couple, but after23 years we sold our share as they wanted to let it out and Ifelt there weren't enough visitors to that area to make itworthwhile. So now we're buying on our own in the Costa Blancaas prices are reasonable and it should be easy to let out. Itwould also be a good place to spend winters when we retire."

While Benidorm, with its long sandy beaches and year-roundentertainment, remains a thriving resort for foreign and Spanishtourists, surrounding coastal and inland towns which have beenlittle-known to the average British holidaymaker are starting tofigure on the residential tourist's map.

As prices in prime coastal locations such as Calpe and Javeaapproach those on the Costa del Sol - with seaview villas from600,000 euros and apartments from 350,000 euros - inland townsand villages within easy access of the coast's facilities aregrowing in appeal for foreign buyers.

"Hotels are becoming non-existent in some places as moreforeigners buy properties as a holiday base instead," says TomásMazón, Professor in the Sociology of Tourism at AlicanteUniversity. "There is a shift inland among foreign second homebuyers who want to live in small, less developed villages with ahigher quality of life, but which are well connected to thecoast by motorways," says Mazón.

Funded by the Valencian Government to research the impact ofresidential tourism in the Alicante province, Mazón recentlyinterviewed 1,000 foreign home owners who spend at least sixmonths a year in the province; 93% said they came for theclimate while 64% said they enjoy a better quality of life inSpain than in their own country. Most had visited the area foryears as tourists before buying.

"The whole coast from Denia to Torrevieja is seeing thephenomenon of foreign buyers, and second-line towns such asRojales and San Miguel de Salinas are seeing frenetic activity -as are almost all of the villages in the Bajo Segura area wherethere are plans to build 160,000 tourist homes and nine new golfcourses," says Mazón. "Certain inland towns too are seeing anoticeable increase in interest, including Castalla, Ibi andJijona." Peter Walker, a football

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reporter from Gerrards Cross,Bucks, is looking with Lighthouse Spain for something a shortdistance inland, possibly in need of renovation. "When thechildren were small, package holidays were the best option, butnow I'm more likely to take a flight and stay at a friend'sproperty - the kind of thing I'd like to own myself. Ideally I'dfly out for weekends and rent it out a bit too."

Atlas International also report a surge in interest in thequieter side of the Costa Blanca, in towns such as Finestrat, 40minutes from Alicante airport, where Atlas has three-bedroomtownhouses from £153,500. "Inland properties offer a widerchoice for people looking to move out to Spain permanently. TheSierra de Hondon, for example, set among mountains andvineyards, is an ideal rural retreat for those who seek countryliving abroad," says Atlas's Managing Director, James Stockdale.

At least one million Brits are estimated to own homes in Spainand it's just the start. "With many people able to releaseequity from their UK properties, and higher inheritance sums anddisposable income, owning a home abroad is becoming a realityfor far more people in Britain than would have been imaginable10 years ago," says Lighthouse Spain's Shaun Powell.

Tony Gatehouse, Chairman of Medsea Estates, concurs thatresidential tourist numbers are set to boom: "In the nextdecade, about 2.3 million British people over 50 will retireabroad and the vast majority will choose Spain," says Gatehouse,who comments that alongside the constant demand among thoseplanning their retirement, there is a growing trend for youngerpeople to live and work in Spain, which is opening up new areasof interest.

"We are seeing increasing demand away from our original marketaround Torrevieja in favour of the north, towards Valencia, andsouth around Murcia. Our off-plan properties in the Nuevo TorreGuil development are popular as they are in a large forestedarea near Murcia city but near some of the best beaches on theMediterranean coast."

About the author:Zoe Dare Hall is a regular contributor tohttp://www.lighthouse-spain.com, a unique service aimed attaking the risk and stress out of buying a property in Spain.