Alicante struggles to keep pace with Spain’s most dynamic provinces. While the broader national economy has improved since the mid-2010s recovery, several indicators show Alicante losing ground in competitiveness. Exports and hotel overnight volumes have not kept up with the rest of the country, signaling a slower productive momentum from the province.
The assessment comes from the Alicante State Institute of Economic Research, known as INECA, presented by its president Nacho Amirola during the Socioeconomic Status Report for the third quarter of 2022. The report includes a eight-year development comparison, highlighting persistent gaps against faster-growing regions.
“The Alicante economy shows slow growth. Social indicators like employment and union participation have risen toward pre-2008 crisis levels, yet productive activity remains subdued. If the Tajo-Segura water transfer were reduced, Alicante’s competitive position would weaken further,” Amirola noted. “We’re moving forward, but at a slow pace.” He emphasized that Alicante has not followed the growth trajectory seen in other dynamic regions such as Valencia, Malaga, Gipuzkoa, or Pontevedra.
Francisco Llopis, director of studies at the local think tank, added that while it is encouraging that Alicante companies increased overseas sales by 15.25% in the third quarter, that figure still trails the national gain of 24.4%. This uneven national growth translates into a smaller share of Spain’s foreign trade for Alicante.
Export activity from Alicante accounted for only 1.8% of Spain’s foreign trade, far below its population share of around 4%, and this represented a decline from 1.94% in the same period the previous year.
Development in hotel overnight stays presents a stark contrast. Between January and September, Malaga posted 570,000 more stays than in 2015, and Valencia showed an increase of 1,159,000—both shifts expanding their national market share. In contrast, Alicante logged roughly 783,000 fewer overnight stays, according to INECA figures.
New housing construction follows a similar pattern, rising in Malaga and Valencia while contracting in Alicante, where activity remains skewed toward the resale market amid ongoing regional vitality.
Two rapid trends stand out among the province’s accounts. Bank deposits in Alicante rose by more than 20% over the past eight years, yet this growth trails behind Malaga and Pontevedra, which reached about 40% and 53% respectively. Changes in loan portfolios echo this disparity as well.
The period saw a notable decline in credit in Alicante, with outstanding loans shrinking by 28.5% while the more dynamic provinces reported double-digit growth. Multiple factors contribute to this pattern, and Amirola pointed to public investments as a stabilizing force that supports projects transforming the regional environment. He reflected on the upheavals seen over the past two decades and remains cautiously optimistic about 2023.
Ineca warns that the Government has implemented only 42% of the budget allocated for Alicante
Another aspect in the report is the pandemic-era GDP data for 2020, updated with national figures from INE. Alicante’s wealth contracted by 9% during the pandemic, slightly better than the national decline of 10.2%, amounting to a €3.353 billion decrease. GDP per capita fell 9.8%, compared with a national drop of 10.7%, yielding an individual income of €17,999 versus €19,944 in 2019. Despite this setback, Alicante’s ranking improved, placing the province at 43rd nationally.
Quino Palací, coordinator of the Studies Committee, noted that although the quarterly figures show improvement, the local labor market still struggles to absorb a large number of unemployed. The unemployment rate in the province remains above the national average. “If the labor market cannot absorb workers, a deeper structural issue persists,” Palací warned.