Spain’s Marbella is becoming increasingly popular among travelers from the Middle East, with Madrid and Barcelona following closely behind. Spanish tour operators recently attended the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, where agreements were made to promote the city. The economic impact of the increase in well-off tourists is expected to benefit Marbella.

”In this edition, our institutional support is particularly important as we wanted to publicize Marbella’s recognition as the best European destination to visit in 2024, reflecting our commitment to quality and excellence,” said Mayor Ángeles Muñoz, adding: ”The municipality receives more tourists from the Middle East, especially due to the direct connections to Malaga airport, and our goal is to continue working in this area to consolidate this market.”

A delegation from Marbella traveled to the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where they had more than 80 meetings with agents at the fair, mainly covering the entire Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, which includes six Arab countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). Due to the geographical proximity to Southeast Asia, India, China, and Singapore, the town hall has also extended its marketing to these countries, where it is easier for them to participate in this event than in European tourism fairs.

Representatives from the largest hotels in Marbella, such as Marbella Club, Don Pepe, Don Carlos, Boho Club, El Fuerte, and Anfitrión, also participated in the fair. The fair was held at the Dubai World Trade Center, and Marbella participated alongside Turespaña and Turismo Andaluz.

Breaking away from the traditional seasons

One of the main characteristics of tourists from the Middle East is their preference for luxury, making Marbella one of their favorite destinations in Europe. However, they prefer to travel in the summer. ”One of our challenges with this market is to break the seasonal variations and convince them that they can also come in the winter. The truth is that all the promotional material we brought with us has run out, and the interest has been enormous,” says Laura de Arce, director of Marbella Tourism, adding: ”Hotels have managed to close bookings for the summer season at this fair,” despite this tourist group having a ”last minute” profile.

De Arce highlighted an important meeting with an agency that organizes all holidays for public employees in the United Arab Emirates. ”We are going to try to collaborate with them as a Marbella brand. The reservations will then be made by the hotels individually, but our intention is for them to choose our destination,” says de Arce, as there will be a large volume of visitors that ”we will try to spread the dates so that not everyone comes at the same time.”