Over 100 direct flights to connect Scandinavia with Málaga

13/05/2010

During the campaign carried out in Oslo, Copenhagen, and Stockholm to excellent results, the Costa del Sol Tourist Board learnt that over 100 direct flights from Scandinavian cities to Málaga Airport will soon be available. The rise in the number of flights is expected to increase the number of travellers from these markets –an increase that can be observed already.

As a matter of fact, according to Tourist Board data, the number of Scandinavian tourists has risen. In the first quarter of 2010, Swedish arrivals increased by 20% over Q1, 2009. On the whole, the number of travellers from the region (Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden) in this period went up by 21.4%.

The Spanish Ambassador to Sweden, Enrique Vigueras, closed the campaign in Scandinavia in a ceremony also attended by the President of the Tourist Board and the Provincial Government of Málaga, Salvador Pendón, and the Head of the Spanish Tourist Office (OET) in Stockholm, Miguel Ángel Nombela. Before over 40 journalists and tour operators, Mr Vigueras thanked the Costa del Sol delegation for having travelled to Sweden and holding events “to promote a travel destination that is unique in the world and well-known to Swedish citizens.”

The Spanish ambassador also congratulated Salvador Pendón on the Sol Swedish Cup, whose fourth edition is taking place in Stockholm next month and is expected to draw golf professionals from the Costa del Sol and Sweden, in particular, the managers of some 20 Costa del Sol-based golf courses and a similar number of Swedish tour operators and representatives of specialist media.

Mr Vigueras’s speech was preceded by the words of Miguel Ángel Nombela, who talked about the virtues of the Costa del Sol, “which most journalists here have already been to or have been invited to visit on one of the fam trips organised by Turespaña and the Tourist Board.”

Afterwards, he introduced Mr Pendón, who thanked all journalists for being there and the OET staff for their contribution to the success of the promotional campaign. Then, our President placed Swedish travellers among the most traditional visitors to the Costa del Sol and showed how our travel destination was effectively responding to changing demand.

Mr Pendón went on to elaborate on golf travel, pointing out that there were over 70 golf courses on the Costa del Sol, most of them irrigated with treated water. “This figure makes us the destination with the highest concentration of golf courses in Continental Europe and, what’s more, you can play golf all year round on them,” he remarked. Then he added that, in its 50-year history as a travel destination, the Costa del Sol had changed to meet every visitor’s needs and preferences.

After going over Málaga’s various cultural and historic sites, he talked about the museums, focusing on the Picasso Museum. Then he mentioned local customs and traditions and how they were kept alive in fiestas and celebrations such as the Holy Week, the August Fair, and the many festivals held in different towns and villages. Finally, he mentioned flamenco as the most accomplished form of Andalusian folklore and the delicious food that can be tried in Málaga.

“But all this would be meaningless,” he said, “if we didn’t have the right connections for visitors to reach the province. This is why we have developed a new terminal in Málaga Airport, which can now welcome 30 million passengers a year. Flights connecting Málaga with Swedish cities rise to 22 a week in the summer season.”

“In sum, the Costa del Sol is a consolidated and safe travel destination, boasting the best hotel industry in the Mediterranean. There are many destinations in Europe, but the Costa del Sol is where you get the best price-quality ratio,” Mr Pendón concluded.

In Oslo during this campaign, the Tourist Board sealed an importance alliance with Norwegian, which announced they would double the number of seats available to fly to the Costa del Sol in an attempt to attract more Scandinavian visitors.

Author:  Patronato de Turismo de la Costa del Sol