TRAVELLING for business to and from Spain is expected to rise significantly in 2015 – and property promoters have reported a growing interest in regular 'movers and shakers' buying second homes abroad as a base instead of checking into hotels.
According to the GBTA Foundation, business travel in Spain, the UK, France, Italy and Germany is predicted to increase by up to 6.6% this year, with spending going up to nearly €157 billion.
The first half of 2014 saw a hike in spending on travelling for business of 4.3% - the highest rise in four years.
And as for Spain in particular, companies across the country admit to feeling more positive about their likelihood of growth in the next 12 months – more so than elsewhere in the European Union – due to greater focus on diversification into new markets and creating new products and services, and improving their own practices to become more efficient, according to research firm Markit.
The recession and economic downturn in Spain has forced companies, traders and working-aged individuals to draw on their creativity to find ways to earn money, leading to an overall modernisation and rise in flexibility and customer focus, as well as a drive towards 'going global' and breaking into overseas markets.
And the consequence of this is that their trading partners will need to visit Spain in the course of duty, or international firms will become keen to set up outposts in the country, leading to a higher level of traffic of business visitors touching down on Spanish shores.
A leading property developer in Spain, of which the head office is in the UK, has begun marketing second homes to business travellers as an alternative to hotels and says interest is growing among those who frequently have to book accommodation in the same parts of the country when jetting south for commercial reasons.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com