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The city of Marbella is considered one of the main luxury destinations in Europe, with a diverse offer that has not decreased due to the pandemic. Despite the effects of restrictions on the tourism industry, dignitaries continue to bet on the municipality.
Laura de Arce, the general director of tourism of the City Hall of Marbella, said that "the pandemic was not helping too much and had paralyzed everything," although she noted that luxury "has suffered the least."
She recalled the wide range of luxury opportunities available in the municipality, where "the largest number of 5-star Gran Lujo hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, numerous golf courses and a variety of shopping offers".
According to the head of the Department of Tourism, the luxury segment "means everything for the city", for which the consistory makes "every effort to attract a high-quality client", for example, the agreement reached with Traveller, which is "the largest luxury travel agency", or cooperation with Virtuoso, thanks to which Marbella "will host congresses of travel agencies from around the world". "We create and attract the best customers," which does not prevent us from attracting other types of users, stressed de Arce, who noted that "attracting these customers benefits all sectors."
As for the profile of this type of clients, he assured that this year it has changed, and the absence of "Russians, Americans or Arabs who cannot travel is compensated by national and European clients." As for the demand for them, de Arce noted that "the pandemic has changed everyone, and high-class tourists are looking for other experiences, calm life, quality and lack of crowds." Agglomeration no longer makes sense, and they are looking for an exclusive and selected environment."
Cristina Martín, the president of the Spanish Luxury Association, stressed the importance of Marbella as an advanced destination and noted that "it is constantly being improved and creates more and more exclusive and unique experiences", and its offer complements "the rest of Andalusia".
In general, he noted that the luxury sector experienced a "15% drop" at the European level, and in Spain it "ended 2020 with a 20% drop compared to 2019, with a turnover of 5,200 million euros." So it is expected that "in September it will restore from 8% to 15%." Therefore, according to him, "to return to recovery, we will have to wait until the end of 2021 or 2022."