Real estate investors in Spain will be delighted by news that the European destination has been tipped to become the top vacation hot spot this summer, regardless of growing rivalry.

The claims are sure to be greeted at a time when the Spanish property market remains depressing amidst declining prices and a meager exchange rate.

In the meantime, the Association of Independence Tour Operators (AITO) has announced that Spain will fight off competition from promising destinations like Turkey and Egypt to retain its place as the most famous place for sun-starved Brits.

According to the figures released by the Skyscanner, European tours to visit Portugal and Spain remain extremely high among Brits.

While talking to media, the flight comparison service said, Spain has three cities in the top ten lists of most searched-for journeys during the upcoming Easter holiday period - Malaga, Alicante and Barcelona.

Moreover, the figures expressed that Portugal's Faro has been named as the 13th most popular place in terms of flight searches.

In the meantime, some other locations named in the top 20 include Paris, Rome, Prague, Madrid and Milan.

According to sources, the 14th edition of MITM Euromed, Meeting and Incentive Travel Market, is all set to take place in the Spain’s Costa Brava resort city of Lloret de Mar.

The meeting is scheduled to be held from June9-11 this year.

Moreover, MITM will be sponsored by Lloret de Mar-Costa Brava, Olympic Congress Center, as well as Evenis Hotels, while it will take place at the award winning “Olympic Congress Center.”

Spain's tourism department reported an 8.7 per cent decline in number of foreign tourists during 2009. It is the second consecutive year for which less number of foreign tourists has been recorded. In 2008, a 2.3 per cent drop in tourism was noticed, which was the first negative growth over a decade.

In 2009, only 52.5 million foreign tourists visited Spain as compared to 57.4 million in 2008, due to which Spain has slipped down from its number two spot in the list of most visited country.

According to the recent data, a total of 49.5 million foreign tourists have arrived in Spain from January to November.

The data, which was released by the Industry, Tourism and Commerce Ministry, showed a fall of 8.9 percent in tourist arrivals in that period of time.

Further, it showed that in the month of October, the decline in international visitors stood at 9.3%, while in the high seasons, July, to September, the total number of international tourists declined 10%.

According to the data, Spain is the most favorite place for the United Kingdom Nationals looking to move abroad. The data showed that around 350,000 UK expats now live in Spain.

Relocating abroad can be scary when having to consider big purchases for example a house or car. But, those looking forward to make regular payments to another nation can grab the benefits granted by the new foreign money transfer service from the Post Office.

Travelers to Spain have been directed to learn Spanish in order to encourage their career prospects over the long term.

According to the study conducted by Emigrate.co.uk, there is a "lack of willingness" to learn English as the lingua franca of the Spanish workplace, possibly making it tricky for non-fluent expats to gain ground.

The study also said that relatively few Spanish business people are fluent in English and that small business owners are less worried to learn the language.

This year’s top gathering of professional persons the World Travel Market in London pulled in more than 5,000 showers pondering what to do about declining tourism numbers.

From Jan ‘09 to Aug ‘09, around 7% fall has been witnessed in the tourism industry.

According to European Travel Operators Association (ETOA), Europe is most affected as it saw 8% fall and it is 11% down for central and eastern Europe.

According to the Spanish Tourist Officer (STO), the country has established its status as a holiday destination for British visitors, which means that it will not see a sudden downfall in the number of visitors experienced by other eurozone countries.

STO’s promotions executive, Paco Gutierrez, told reporters that city breaks to Barcelona and Madrid are among Spain’s selling points, besides holiday resorts in around Andalusia and Malaga.

Further, Paco said the decline in value of the pound against European currency has made eurozone countries less attractive to Brits.

Iberdrola Inmobiliaria has decided to build up the Koral Beach Elite tourism complex in Bulgaria, along the south coast of the Black Sea.

With a total investment of €44.6 million, this will be the most crucial operation so far for this subsidiary of the Spanish electricity company.

The proposal comes as part of the company’s foreign growth activities planned within its 2008-2010 Strategic Plan, and was presented in Sofia under the banner of Tsarevo, a tourism destination and an exclusive investment, during an event held in the Hilton Hotel in the Bulgarian capital.