As the 2013 summer season closes, there is good news to report, as holiday rental requests increased 17.8% year-on-year (June, July, August 2012).

(TRAVPR.COM) MALAGA - September 17th, 2013 - A survey carried out by Spain-holiday.com on holiday requests and bookings for summer 2013 showed that European holidaymakers, and especially British and French tourists - who accounted for 30% of all requests, continue to choose Spain for their annual holidays.

Apartments and villas were most in-demand during the last three months, making up over 50% of total requests.

A Summer Revival

Throughout June, July and August rental property requests sprung up, recording a 17.8% rise year-on-year. In total 117,650 requests were recorded by Spain-holiday.com. British, French and Spanish tourists still outrank other nationalities, accounting for 70% of the total demand for holiday rentals up to the end of August.

Tourists from the United Kingdom top the list

The study revealed, once again, that the UK market is dominating the demand for holiday rentals in Spain during the summer, with a total of 30% of all requests coming from UK travellers; ahead of French, Scandinavian and domestic tourists.

Favourite summer destinations

The mainland Spanish coast, predominantly the Mediterranean and southern Spain, and the Balearic and Canary Islands, continue to receive the biggest share of foreign tourists. Nevertheless, we see a growing interest towards inland and rural destinations, such as Madrid, Castilla La Mancha, Castilla León and Extremadura, especially amongst domestic tourists; with 36% requesting a countryside holiday rental.

According to the study carried out by Spain-holiday.com, Andalucia is the most requested region, with a 42.1% demand for vacation rentals, followed by Valencia with 24% of total requests and Catalonia with 23%. The Balearic and Canary Islands received 8%, while Murcia accumulated 2.5% of the total holiday requests.

Most sought-after property types

Apartments led the demand, both from national and international tourists, during the month of August, constituting nearly half of the total holiday requests, whilst villas were sought-after by 34.6% of holidaymakers and in third and fourth place were urban apartments and penthouses, with 6.3% and 3.7% respectively. Last, but definitely not least, and most curious, is sleeping in a typical rural cave house was chosen by 1% of travellers, as was boat accommodation.

Mariangeles Claros, director of Marketing for Spain-holiday.com:

Spain-holiday.com estimates that the volume of holiday rental requests will continue to remain stable during the autumn season: “The change of season, cooler temperatures and wide range of rural holiday homes on offer, means that the trend for rural tourism takes over in the autumn. Domestic tourists take advantage of the two bank holidays during October and Novemer to enjoy a break in the mountains or countryside with family and friends. However, foreign tourists, especially Northern Europeans, still enjoy the combination of the Spanish coastal region and the slightly cooler autumn temperatures.

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