Else Beekman
This year will be a record year for the Valencia region with British visitors. According to estimates from the hotel and tourism association Hosbec, around 3.05 million Britons will have visited the Comunitat Valenciana by the end of 2026. Between them they will have spend €3.35 billion. If the forecast holds, both numbers will be the best the association has recorded.
Hosbec presented the figures at World Travel Market in London this week. Less positive is a possible fall by 4,7% from scheduled flight capacity from the UK to Alicante-Elche airport between November 2026 and April 2027.
Fewer nights, bigger spend
In 2019 2.84 million British tourists came to the region. Since then visitor numbers are up 7.5%. Acciording to this year’s forecast spending has risen much faster with 356% compared to €2.46 billion before the pandemic.
Overnight stays wil reach 21.2 million, which is still slightly below the 21.7 million of 2019. The British are taking more shorter trips, and spend more on each. For Hosbec this is a proof that the region’s tourism sector has improved quality and profitability without chasing unsustainable growth.
Benidorm concerned about winter flights
Between November and April, the region’s three airports will offer 1,793,533 seats from the UK. Alicante-Elche accounts for 1,535,625 of them, down 4.7%. On the contrary Valencia airport sees its capacity going up 1.8% to 246,717 seats. Castellón is growing too, by 5.7% to 11,191 seats.
Hoteliers point out that winter is precisely when the British market is most important for Benidorm and the Costa Blanca. “Every seat we lose means lost jobs and lost occupancy,” they warn. Therefore that drop in winter flights matters.
Overall, Alicante airport is still growing thanks to other international markets. Nevertheless, Hosbec president Fede Fuster wants Aena, the authorities and the airlines to work together on the issue. “Our challenge now is winter connectivity,” he said. “We can’t afford to lose seats in Alicante when the demand is there.”
Aena’s own figures show British traffic was still rising up to September. Alicante-Elche handled close to 2.7 million passengers from the UK, up 6.7% on last year. Valencia saw 445,200, an increase of 30.7%. Castellón welcomed 21,612, up 34.8%.
All-inclusive still the favourite
Hosbec expects 1.46 million British guests this year in hotels, accounting for 6.6 million overnight stays and €385 million in spending. Up to August, hotels had received 964,380 British guests, 6% more than a year earlier. Their overnight stays barely moved, rising just 0.1% to 4.36 million. The average stay has slipped from 4.8 to 4.6 days.
British guests pay an average of €123 per booking, €6 more than last year. That is still below the average across all markets, which stands at €135.50.
Tour operators remain the main booking channel, with 43.2% of reservations. Online travel agencies follow at 17.5% and bed banks at 16%. Only 6.5% book directly with the hotel. All-inclusive is the most popular option at 37.6%, ahead of bed and breakfast (27%) and half board (21.8%).
AI increasingly important as source of holiday ideas
Most Britons still get their holiday ideas from family and friends (42%), price comparison sites (37%) and travel websites and guides (35%). However, th use of tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Claude has risen six points to 14%. Among 25 to 34-year-olds it reaches 29%. Add search engines with AI summaries (13%) and combined use stands at 24%, level with social media.
Fuster warned the industry that destinations that are not well positioned on these tools will lose visibility, and hotels that ignore AI as a future sales channel will be left behind.
Spain the top choice for 2027
According to the report, 70% of Britons plan to travel abroad between September 2026 and August 2027, and 56% intend to holiday in the UK, two points more than before.
Spain is as a holiday destination amongst Britons the clear favourite with 26%, up three points. France and Italy follow at 14% each, then the United States (13%) and Greece (11%). City breaks (51%) and sun and beach holidays (50%) top the list of plans, while rural tourism has risen to 28%.
More than half of British travellers (54%) say they want to discover a new town or city in a country they already love.
Green light for expansion of Alicante and Valencia airports