Salou, a tourist destination that surprises and grows even if it is not summer

Salou. Costa Dorada. 12 January 2024. “Salou is a municipality that never runs out. It surprises and never ceases to surprise.” This is how the mayor of Salou, Pere Granados, explains the good results achieved in the 2023 tourist season, which consolidate the municipality as the undisputed capital of the Costa Daurada and as one of the most important tourist destinations in Catalonia and Spain.

Compared to 2022, all indicators grow considerably but the most spectacular is the increase in the use of POS (credit card payment) in Salou establishments, which rises by 26%. Tourism spending compared to 2019 has increased by 150%. Currently, 55% of the spending that occurs in Salou with a credit card corresponds to the tourism sector.

The most significant increases in 2023 have occurred in the months of May, September, October and November, indicating that Salou's strategies to receive visitors all year round are working well.

The domestic consumer is the one that spends the most, with Barcelona in the lead (30%) followed by Tarragona (13%) and Zaragoza and Madrid (7% each). Internationally, spending has gone from 18% to 20%. By sector, catering has grown slightly (from 17.3% to 17.5%), while spending on accommodation has gone from 34.4% to 36.5%. Albert Pascual, head of Tourism business at CaixaBank, explained these data together with the mayor of Salou, Pere Granados.

Annual visitors have grown by 5.7%. France leads the country that sends the most visitors (27%), followed by Ireland, which has grown considerably with 23%, even surpassing England, which has recovered Salou as a holiday destination to reach 21%.

In 2024, more moderate growth is expected, but the mayor of Salou, Pere Granados, has highlighted the desire to open new markets, especially long-term North American and Asian markets, and to continue delving deeper into the French market.

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