Andalusia: Sun, beach and city trips

The main attraction of Andalusia for foreign tourists continues to be the sun and the beach, although city trips and active and nature tourism have increased in recent years.

The climate, the cultural heritage, the rich landscape, the variety of the offer and the good value for money are the main assets of tourism in this region. The traditional destinations are the beaches (the province of Málaga, with the Costa del Sol as the greatest exponent, accounts for a third of the hotel beds in the region) and monumental cities, mainly Seville, Córdoba, Granada, Úbeda and Baeza. In recent years there has also been an important development of rural and inland tourism, supported by the natural wealth of the region and a growing offer in terms of quality and diversity. The Andalusian tourist catalog also includes a complete network of leisure services. To the large theme parks such as Isla Mágica in Seville are added, among other attractions, the largest concentration of golf courses in Spain (a total of 102) and the southernmost ski resort in Europe, Sierra Nevada. The community also has 65 nautical-recreational facilities and more than 22,500 sports berths. It should be noted that Andalusia led the increase in Social Security affiliates in the tourism sector during the past year, with an increase of 4.1%, the highest in Spain and higher than the average state increase, which was 3.2%. The Andalusian tourism sector increased its number of affiliates to Social Security in the past year, with 10,051 registrations, which placed it as the Spanish autonomous community with the most workers registered in this area, with a total of 275,176 affiliates. Andalusia will present at the International Tourism Fair (Fitur) the new cultural tourist card, the commitment to the equestrian segment and flamenco and “Andalusia, Origin and Destination”, on the occasion of the Fifth Centenary of the First Tour of the World. According to Tourism, flamenco is the most genuine cultural identity of Andalusia, which is why “you cannot understand flamenco without Andalusia, nor Andalusia without flamenco”.