THE Costa del Sol has officially set a new tourism record, new figures have revealed. 

The holiday hotspot received 12.5 million international tourists last year, 6.42% than 2016.

It also bucked the trend when it comes to national tourists, receiving 5.1 million last year, 4% more than last year.

The domestic market alone brought €4.3 billion and 52,813 jobs to the Costa del Sol last year.

Overall the region raked in €13.8 billion in 2017, a 9.5% increase on the year before.

The tourism sector employed 8.8% more people than in 2016, with 111,172 finding work last year.

“With these figures there is no doubt that the main international markets are clearly betting on the Costa del Sol,” said Costa del Sol tourism boss Elias Bendodo.

Passengers from the top 20 countries visiting Malaga have also grown, especially Holland and Sweden, which have grown a lot, and also Italy and Denmark, which have seen ‘significant growth’, according to Bendodo..

The president added that 2018 is set to break all records again with an increase in tourism of 2.5% forecast for the first quarter.