Brexit loss of free movement will gut Brit tourism businesses in Spain

The bad news for newly formed Brit expat businesses on Spain’s Costa del Sol is that Brexit is likely to result in a 1.4 billion euro loss to the tourist trade.

Already, the approach of Brexit and the potential loss of free movement has cut profits in many popular visitor destinations, but fears that Brexit will result in a massive turndown of tourist numbers are now stalking the sector. Over the past three years since the Brexit referendum, disenchanted Brits have been arriving in popular locations in order to start small businesses aimed at the tourism market, spurred on by fears of the economic damage sure to be done to the UK by leaving the EU.

Unfortunately and understandably, very few would-be British expat entrepreneurs could have factored in the devastation and confusion caused by the misrepresentation of facts put out by the Leave campaign, nor its effect on sterling which is now all too evident. Experts now fear the UK departure from the European Union could cost businesses in Spain’s hospitality sector to lose 1.4 billion euros in the next year.

The logic of the estimate is based on estimated visitor numbers from the UK after freedom of movement ends and tourist visas become necessary. It’s not yet known how much short-term visas will cost, but considering the slump in the value of sterling, the cost for a family of four could mean the difference between a booking for Spain and a staycation in the UK. For recently-arrived UK expats who’ve focused their dreams on opening a business in the Costa del Sol, the warning will have come too late.