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Growth in Tourism

  • Tourism in Spain is historically robust and the tourist market continues to grow with sustained expectation of some 50 million visitors per annum, of which around 17 million are from the UK

  • Spain remains the second most popular holiday destination in the world

  • The short journey times either by air, sea or rail are attractive to many and they reflect well on carbon footprints

  • The climate is exceptional for the majority of the year

  • Golfers have a multitude of courses to play on, in an extended season of temperate weather

  • English widely spoken in larger towns, cities and coastal areas

Improving Infrastructure 

  • Improved airport facilities are commonplace

  • New airports being built

  • Major roads are being overhauled and additional motorways being built

  • Hospitals, schools and banks are better now than many in the UK

Politics/Economy

  • A stable constitutional monarchy

  • Financially solid with a robust economy

  • Core inflation now 2.4% (Source: www.tradeinvestment.gov.uk)

  • Significant investment from overseas, not least the USA and the UK

  • Spanish economy grew by 4% in Q1 2007 (Source: Barcelona Reporter)

Buoyant Property Market

  • A well-established market, fully used to servicing investors in property and buy-to-lets

  • Legal systems are all in place and robust

  • Properties represent value for money in a robust, well-structured Mediterranean country

  • Buy to let market strong

  • Low cost of living

  • Low cost of financing - the mortgage market is fairly mature

  • UK Bank surveys show some 5% of people are looking to retire overseas and will opt for Spain

Accessibility

  • Flight times from anywhere in the UK to Spain are around 2 to 2.5 hours

  • Flights readily available from main and regional UK airports to all airports in Spain, and in particular for Costa de Almeria – Almeria, Murcia, Alicante and Granada airports

  • All the UK and Irish low cost budget airlines fly from airports around the UK to main and regional airports in Spain

  • Rail links from UK mainland mainline stations are good and fast

  • Ferries from the south coast of England to northern Spain are good value for money and ferries from the south east corner of England to northern France provide a cheap starting point for driving to Spain

  • The Eurotunnel provides a swift entry for those wishing to drive down through France

  • Bus travel from main London bus stations is another option - cheap but takes two days

  • The good mix of travel options to Spain results in a favourable carbon footprint

Favourable Tax Regime

  • Double tax treaty with UK for non-residents

  • UK Government state pension increases feed through to expatriates resident/living in Spain