The Only Way Is Ibiza - TOWIE sparks surge in bookings to Spain

Wherever the glamorous stars of hit reality TV show The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) go, scores of fans are bound to follow.

And when not strutting their stuff along the streets of Brentwood, the cast can be found sunning themselves on the shores of Spain.

Keen to recreate the sun-kissed look that TOWIE’s stars are so famous for, holidaymakers are jetting off for Spanish locations featured in the show – possibly in the hopes of rubbing shoulders with Arg, Bobby, Gemma and more.

According to Hotels.com, there has been a staggering 111% leap in searches for the Balearic island of Ibiza following last week's premiere of TOWIE spin-off The Only Way Is Ibiza.

A similar surge in bookings was also witnessed when the show’s two-part Marbella special hit our screens earlier this summer, with Hotels.com recording an overnight increase in searches of 72%.

Lizann Peppard of Hotels.com said: “The Only Way Is Essex is clearly a force to be reckoned with when it comes to providing inspiration for our next holiday!

“The exploits of this popular bunch clearly make us want to look for our own sunny getaways as shown by these figures even after the closing parties have ended.

“Our site offers great deals all year round for places like Ibiza so there is no need to be 'well jel' of their fun in the sun!”

Spanish tourism growing in leaps and bounds

Official tourism figures for Spain show that it’s not just avid watchers of TOWIE who are keen to pack their bags for a spell on this Mediterranean gem.

Earlier this year, Spain’s tourism ministry revealed that the number of foreign tourists to the country had leapt by 8.8% in August, compared to the same period in 2013. This meant that tourist figures hit an unprecedented figure of 9.07 million.

Unsurprisingly, British tourists led the mass holiday exodus to Spain (2.14 million visitors), followed by the French (1.98 million visitors) and Germans (1.29 million visitors).

The most popular Spanish destinations for summer holidays were revealed to be Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Andalusia.

If you are heading off on a holiday to Spain or any other part of Europe, it’s important to organise travel insurance in advance.

Date Created: 13/10/2014