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Budget hotel chain Travelodge has announced plans to expand into the Spanish tourist accommodation market.

The UK-based company plans to spend €1 billion (£0.7 billion) opening 100 hotels across Spain by 2020.

An estimated 2,000 new jobs will be created by the company's expansion into the country's hotel sector – Travelodge's first major move into the international accommodation market.

Travelodge, which has already successfully piloted the operation of three hotels in Spain, initially plans to open new sites within the country's major cities.

After planned openings in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, the company will roll out its Spanish expansion programme to the nation's other cities and to suburban areas and airports.

The new Spanish hotels will mirror the company's UK budget hotel chain, Travelodge has confirmed.

It says its decision to expand into the Spanish hotel sector was driven by the country's "burgeoning" tourism market.

Spain's domestic travellers will initially be targeted under Travelodge's expansion strategy, while the new hotels will also be aimed at UK visitors who regularly travel to the country.

The hotel group believes it is well-placed to benefit from such demand, claiming 61 per cent of its 1.5 million-strong UK online customer base is planning a trip to Spain within the next three years.

Commenting on the plans, Travelodge chief executive Grant Hearn said: "We are very excited about our plans for Spain - an important part of Travelodge’s longer-term growth strategy.

"While there is a very strong growth outlook in the UK for the next ten to 15 years, we have demonstrated through our pilot that the Travelodge model works in Spain and the time is right to capitalise on this demand," he explained.