Around 3.7 million foreigners who visit Spain each year for leisure purposes buy a property. The months of April, July, August and October are the preferred months for these tourists, with stays lasting an average of 17 days.
The acquisition of homes by foreign tourists who reside in them for some period of the year generates an impact of 6,351 million euros on the Spanish GDP, according to a report by the Association of Developers and Builders of Spain (APCEspaña).
The study, prepared together with the consultancy PwC based on 2022 data, takes into account both the value generated by the investment related to new construction (1,785 million) and that derived from the expenses associated with the enjoyment of the homes (4,565 million).
The president of the employers' association of developers, Juan Antonio Gómez–Pintado, has highlighted the figures of an economic segment that until now had not been measured in detail and that in his opinion has a more relevant weight than the administrations have given it.
The investment related to residential tourism has a "multiplier impact" on the economy, stresses the employers' association, which estimates that for every direct euro destined to these homes, 2.34 euros are generated in the GDP.
According to these estimates, "residential tourism" has an effect on the economy three times greater than that of the textile industry (1,920 million), twice that of the wood and cork industry (2,515 million) and above the manufacture of pharmaceutical products (5,959 million).
According to this construction company, "the activity of these foreign tourists, from the time they arrive in Spain for the first time, until they return to enjoy the homes they have acquired, also generates 105,606 jobs, both in the construction of these properties and in leisure and other sectors".
Spain, the Florida of Europe
Gomez-Pintado stressed during a presentation of the report to the media that many of the Europeans who establish Spain as their vacation residence do so with the prospect of continuing in the country when they retire.
"Spain could become what Florida is in the United States. Spain would be the Florida of Europe," said the president of the employers' association.
Spain "clearly wins the game" in this area to countries that could compete with it in attracting foreign visitors with properties, such as Turkey, Morocco or Tunisia, says Gómez-Pintado.
Sales on the rise
Home sales by foreigners soared in 2022 to 88,858 acquisitions, of which 15.5% were new construction (13,800 properties), stresses the APCEspaña study.
In 2021, sales were 60,973 homes; in 2019 they amounted to 62,732 and in 2018 to 65,308.
By nationality, 11.1% of the properties sold in 2022 were acquired by British, 9.5% by Germans, 7% by French and 5.2% by Belgians.
At the provincial level, home sales were concentrated on the Mediterranean coast, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, the report indicates.
With the first data on 2023, the employers' association anticipates that the economic impact of residential tourism will be greater than in that year thanks to an increase in tourist spending during their stay in Spain, despite a slight decline in investments in sales
