Spain's emerging holiday destinations in 2013

Spain continues to top EU residents favourite holiday destination list and was voted the world’s best budget destination by a Post Office survey in January. As Spain becomes evermore popular, holidaymakers looking for a less crowded destination are doing their research, in the hope of finding a hidden holiday gem.  

Spain-holiday.com took a closer look at some of the Spanish towns and resorts that are emerging as holiday destinations this year and we reveal what locations topped the list of new places to visit. Our results are based on the year-on-year increase in holiday rental enquiries for 2012-2013 for each destination. 

 

Cap de Creus, Costa Brava, close to Cunit, our number one emerging destination for 2013

Looking for a beach with space to park your parasol?


Requests for holiday rentals in Cunit, Tarragona’s most northerly coastal town, on Catalonia’s Costa Dorada (Golden Coast), saw the highest year-on-year increase. Emerging from its natural surroundings, Cunit enjoys a 2km fine, golden sand beach, protected by a series of breakwaters, which make up smaller bays. It has much to offer in the way of cultural interest, activities, excursions and it’s natural surroundings. Barcelona and Tarragona are within visiting distance, making Cunit an excellent all-round holiday destination choice.  

Playa de Amadores, or Lovers Beach is a fairly new addition to the list of beach destinations in Gran Canaria. This purpose-built resort offers a much more laid-back atmosphere, compared to the neighbouring resort of Puerto Rico. Although with holiday rental enquiries for Playa de Amadores up 780% year-on-year, it might not stay quiet for much longer. It’s an ideal family destination with a gently sloping beach and clean, calm waters, protected by a natural breakwater. The town has a good selection of bars and restaurants and you have the livelier resort of Puerto Rico next door.   

Rodas Beach, on the Cies IslandsBaiona is a coastal resort, situated in the province of Pontevedra, in the Rias Baixas region of Galicia. A region famous for delicious Albarino white wine. A sleepy fishing town for most of the year, Baiona wakes up to a cacophony of tourists during the summer months. Situated in a bay, next to the mouth of the River Miñor, Baiona has grown in popularity in the last few years, especially with Spanish holidaymakers. The climate is milder than in southern Spain, but the gorgeous white stretches of beach, make up for the cooler climate. It’s also an excellent spot for diving enthusiasts. The nearest airport is Vigo and the town is an ideal location if you want to explore the rest of Galicia and the stunning, natural Cies Islands.  

Llança is a beautiful coastal village, set in the province of Girona, on the Costa Brava. Holiday rental enquiries in Llança were up 300% year-on-year. And it’s not surprising. The Costa Brava is one of Spain’s most popular destinations, renowned for gorgeous bays backed by pine-clad hills and crystal clear waters. It’s a destination of choice for those looking for a laid-back beach holiday and Llança offers just that.  

Inland Spanish destinations increasingly popular with holidaymakers


It seems many tourists are deviating away from Spain’s overly-populated coastal resorts and looking for more rustic and traditional surroundings. Manresa in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, saw an astounding 2000% increase year-on-year in holiday rental enquiries this year. The gothic city is located 68 kilometres from the nearest beach, Barcelona’s own, Barceloneta; yet its gothic charm and stunning natural surroundings attracted more new visitors this year, than most beach resorts on our list. 

Just 17kms from Spain’s most popular destination of 2013, Marbella; is the small lazy town of Monda. Once an Arabic lookout, Monda doesn’t go in for all that Marbella glitz and glamour. More so it attracts travellers looking for a more rustic, natural and holistic Spanish destination.  The whitewashed Andalusian 'pueblo' is situated in the Sierra de las Nieves natural park and is crowned by La Villeta, a rehabilitated castle turned into hotel and restaurant. Although popular with many ex-pat residents, Monda is now becoming a popular holiday destination; combining tradition, nature and a wholesome ambiance, with its close proximity to the livelier attractions of the Costa del Sol.  

Other inland destinations whose enquiries increased this year included: Berga in Catalonia; Hondon de las Nieves in Alicante and Villaviciosa in stunning Asturias.  

Our infographic below presents the 'Top 20 Destinations' ranked by their increase in enquiries year-on-year. It shows that although some of the more recognised resorts received more enquiries, their percentage increases were lower in comparison to lesser known destinations whose enquiries increased from 1 last year to 20 this year, demonstrating an increase of over 2000% year-on-year.