Turbulent Summer ahead for Costa del Sol Tourism Sector

Costa del Sol regulars will probably not be as badly affected by the August strike action, for a large percentage of frequent Marbella visitors have already purchased their own holiday home. However, for those looking to book last minute holiday accommodation at the Costa del Sol there may be a turbulent summer ahead.
 
Industrial action over workers’ pay and working hours may well cripple the hotel and catering sector this August, if union leaders and management cannot agree on a mutually satisfactory solution.
 
No reasons to be cheerful

In an industry that is only seasonal and mostly lowly paid to start off with, unions and their workers are perhaps justly bitter over proposals by bosses to raise the customary 40-hour week to longer hours during the busy months of July and August. The simplest solution is, of course, to hire more people to do the jobs that cannot be done by an existing workforce in their 40-hour week – but even in a record year for Spanish tourism bosses are not prepared to spend money on hiring extra staff.

Now unions and bosses of the tourism sector are at loggerheads over hours and pay and although no official strikes have yet been announced, union leaders have said that August may well see industrial action if no agreement can be reached. The first protest rally is planned for 18th July, targeting the offices of the Aehcos Hoteliers’ Association in Torremolinos. On 24th July the unions step up their protests with a rally in front of the headquarters of the Málaga Business Confederation (CEM) in Málaga city.

Making a move

With property prices in Spain still lower than they have ever been, it is tempting to buy a holiday home and be done with the irritants of strike action in the hotel and catering sector. However, this has already been a summer of discontent for French and Belgian air traffic controllers, whose strike action caused chaos at airports across Europe and soured relations between airport ground staff, airline officials and holidaymakers even more this year.
 
Before buying a holiday property it is therefore recommended to look at alternative travel methods. How do you get to your holiday home when airports are plunged into chaos and flights are cancelled across Europe?

For those who wish to visit their holiday home just twice a year, the threat of repeated industrial action is probably less off-putting than for buyers who plan to visit the Costa del Sol as often as they can.
 
For most people in the UK the self-drive option is not viable as it takes too long and is too costly. Various coach tour operators offer incredibly cost-effective travel options, but it can be an exhausting trip and is not recommended for families with small children. That leaves ferries, sailing and rail travel. If you don’t own your own yacht...the costs are prohibitive and so is the time it takes to get there.

The perfect solution is to own a Marbella home and move to Spain permanently. For people who work location-independently, namely online via their laptop or PC, it is far easier to switch their place of residency. Selling a fairly standard apartment in London, a city that is regularly crippled by demonstrations, strikes and similar nuisances, means expats will be able to live mortgage free and in some luxury at the Costa del Sol.

The sale of an average London or South East of England apartment may not pay for a villa with swimming pool in La Zagaleta or El Madronal, but it will most certainly pay for a townhouse or luxury apartment in Marbella’s lovely Elviria, Puerto Banus, Nueva Andalusia or Guadalmina districts.
 
Given that the rate at which Spanish house prices have been falling is now slowing, anyone who is able to make a permanent move to Spain, or would like to travel to the Costa del Sol regularly, should consider buying a Spanish property now, when UK house prices are going through the roof and Marbella property is more affordable than ever. Sit by your own pool and sip a pre-dinner cocktail, while watching industrial action play out on TV!