Foreign Tourists Still Prefer to Travel to the Andalusian Destination After the COVID-19

Abstract

The primary goal of this case study is to examine the reasons behind foreign visitors' visits to the eight provinces of Andalusia between 2007 and 2022 to identify the primary markets with the greatest potential for overnight stays and to create more effective tourism campaigns. Findings revealed that holidays and leisure activities were the most important pull motives for foreign tourists visiting Andalusia. Furthermore, the main five tourist markets for overnight stays in Andalusia were English, German, French, Dutch and Belgian tourists. Although Belgian, Italian, American, Latin American, and Dutch, Portuguese and Swedish tourists also dynamize and encourage the economic development of the eight Andalusian destinations. Indeed, the interrelationship between the number of passenger arrivals and the evolution of the total Andalusia overnight stays has gone hand-in-hand throughout the period under consideration. This remarkable result emphasises the importance of air transport to Andalusian destinations.