Wednesday 5 December 2007

Murcia leads in the Tourism Jobs sector in Spain

Murcia still tops the league for the creation of jobs in the tourism industry according to information from the council of tourism and consumers.

The number of foreign tourists visiting the region in the first seven months of 2007 brought revenue of 343 million euros into the economy, 35% more than last year. The nationwide average was just 3.1% which demonstrates the popularity that the Costa Calida is gaining as a tourist destination.

Data from the summer months of July and August confirms that this is a booming time for the industry in the region, as the job creation in the sector has gone up by 6% .vs. the previous years, putting Murcia once again at the top of the national table.

The statistics are backed up by the arrival of figures for the airport at San Javier which shows that 1,375,447 people passed through the airport for the first eight months of the year, 23.4% more than in 2006. August alone saw 234,000 travellers land in the region.

As in previous years, the figures for international tourism have the biggest impact. Of the tourists coming to the region, 1,258,226 were from outside of Spain and only 117,221 were coming here from other parts of the country during the same period.

You can find more information on Murcia and the Costa Calida on the website: Property in Murcia

Good news for property owners in Spain

A new study has revealed that the price per square meter of homes in the Murcia region (Costa Calida) has increased by 12.7% for the first half of 2007, against an 8.2% rise for 2006. The study by Caja España shows that this figure continues to rise in Murcia gaining momentum in the last three months and bucking the national trend.

The most recent data for the last three months shows a rise of 9.5% and the slight drop is due to a fall in the price of older homes, whose prices rose by 8.2% in the first quarter of the year, but by only 4.8% in the second quarter.

Urban land has risen in value by 36.8% in the same period, against the 11.4% growth demonstrated in 2006.

An analysis of the regions labour market and inflation for the first quarter of the year, also made by Caja España shows that the Murcia region has one of the lowest labour costs amongst the autonomous communities.

Inflation in the region has risen slightly over the first quarter from 2.4% to 2.7%. The survey also shows that there has been steady job creation in this period, over and above the national average, and as a result there has been a drop in the unemployment statistics for Murcia.

Summarising Caja España stated that the region would have an active working population and although growth would slow there would still be a noticeable trend above the national average.

The study also shows important levels of growth in the construction and service sectors; however employment trends especially in the construction sector can be a bit erratic.

The number registered as unemployed with INEM has increased 2.9% for the year on year comparison and whilst this is considered a significant increase, there is a tendency for the figures to fall during the last two trimesters.

For more information on the propery market in Spain, look at the website: Murcia Properties

Also check out the Holiday Villas in the Murcia region.