Blackpool Airport hopes a Spanish invasion will help propel visitor numbers above the one million mark next year.

Monarch Scheduled became the latest airline to add Blackpool to its schedules this week and the company expects 100,000 people annually to use its daily flights to and from Malaga.

And Monarch chiefs say they hope at least 30 per cent of the travellers will be Spaniards exploring Blackpool and the north west region.

Managing director, Tim Jeans, was in Blackpool this week to launch the route, said: "If we manage to energise the Spanish market, there is no limit to the potential.

"Rest assured, no stone will be left unturned to get these flights full.

"The interesting thing about the Spanish market is that the Spanish have a tremendous have an enormous appetite for travel. Blackpool is an iconic destination. The illuminations, the nightlife, even the weather - to a person living in Spain a nice, warm, comfortable 17 degrees might make a pleasant change in the summer."

Monarch is also flying from Spain to Newquay and Aberdeen from Spain in a bid to mirror the success of regional Italian, Spanish and French destinations in attracting British tourists.

The first flights, on a 174-seat A320 aircraft, are due to take off daily from Thursday, November 3. Flights will arrive in Blackpool at 9.45 am - three hours before any other service from southern Spain reaches the north west. Outgoing flights take off at 10.30am. Flying time is two hours, 45 minutes.

Fares start at £39.99 one way (£74.99) including taxes and we booking discount.

An overhaul of the terminal to allow a capacity of 1.5 million passengers per year is next on the agenda for airport chiefs, who hope to be able to confirm a daily flight to Amsterdam in the near future. If the Malaga flights succeed, Monarch also hopes to introduce more flights to the continent.

Paul Whelan, executive chairman of Blackpool Airport owners, City Hoppers, said: "Two years ago, 75,000 people were travelling through this airport annually. By this time next year, 1.2/1.3 million people will be flying out of Blackpool, based on what we know is in the pipeline."