Costa del Sol has ‘special place in heart of Brits’ says UK ambassador to Spain

Simon Manley, the British ambassador to Spain, remarked at a forum in Marbella last week that the Costa del Sol retains a “special place in the hearts of Brits”, and moved to reassure those in attendance that the relationship would not be damaged by Brexit…

The forum was held on the Costa del Sol to address the potential pros and cons of Brexit for both the UK and Spain. According to Manley, British holidaymakers will continue to be the Costa del Sol’s best customers, with 2017 likely to see last year’s record 18 million British visitors to Spain smashed.

The ambassador also reminded the crowd that the UK is the third-largest investor into Spain, and reaffirmed his belief that the current relationship will endure the forthcoming changes to the UK’s EU membership.

More specifically, Manley said that the British Embassy in Madrid is working on building further relationships between the two countries on a range of topics, namely renewable energy, telecommunications and closer aviation ties.

Given the volume of air traffic between the two nations, it makes sense for Spain and the UK to pursue a closer commercial and working relationship with regards to airports and air routes.

Any measures that could make travelling to and from Spain even cheaper, swifter and easier are likely to be welcomed by both Brits and Spaniards, and would also have the effect of increasing tourism revenue still further as well as buoying the property market of Spain, which has long attracted sustained British interest.