British holidaymakers have once again come under fire from officials in Spain, with the boss of the country’s tourist board issuing a rallying cry to Germans to take over from the UK as the top source market.

At a meeting organised by German media outlet FVW in Valencia, Turespana Director General Miguel Sanz said Spain wants to attract more Germans because they spend more.

He is reported to have urged the German market to ‘outrun the British’ after saying Spain doesn’t compete with other destinations on price but focuses on ‘quality and the travel experience’.

FVW reports the Director General, who is also President of the European Travel Commission, said visitor numbers are expected to reach 2019 levels soon, but still sees growth opportunities for the German market.

“We are not a destination that competes in price with other destinations, we focus on quality and the travel experience,” he said, before urging Germans to ‘outrun the British’ and replace the UK as the top source market.

He added that ‘German customers are cultural travellers’ and said: “We should continue to develop the relationship with the German market so that Germans also want to discover Spanish cities.”

His comments come months after former President of Lanzarote’s local government Dolores Corujo told the ITB Berlin trade fair that the island also wanted to attract ‘higher-quality’ German tourists over Britons.

Her comments caused Jet2 Group CEO Steve Heapy to write to demand an explanation.

Travel Gossip has asked the Spanish Tourism Office in London for a comment on the Director General’s remarks.

Miguel Sanz picture credit: European Travel Commission