It’s unheard of Spain’s tourism sector, which many experts said was stagnant and mature ten years ago, has not only massively recovered but continues to beat records from one year to the next in terms of numbers of international tourist arrivals. Since it touched bottom in 2009, with 52.2 million foreign tourists, the sector has not stopped growing any year. In 2015, numbers reached 65 million, up 31% in comparative terms.
Spain’s tourism sector is on course for another record year in 2106, if the January figures are anything to go by. It looks like Spaniards are going to be on the move at Easter, both at home and overseas, taking advantage of currency depreciations in tourism destinations like Brazil.
After seven years of crisis, Spain’s economic model is tending towards what it was in the past. The country ‘s tourism industry is a leader in terms of competitiveness. Furthermore, last summer the sector performed the best it has for a decade.
Spain’s international tourist arrivals data continues to beat records, with 38 million visitors in the January-July period.
The Corner | March 31, 2015 | German and Spanish retail sales have improved markedly compared with this time last year. Unemployment figures for the euro zone are expected to fall slightly, while results of EU inflation figures will be keenly monitored in the wake of the ECB’s sovereign bond purchasing programme, launched earlier this month.
MADRID | The Corner | According to the tourist expenditure survey EGATUR, foreign tourists spent €56.374 billion in Spain in the first ten months of 2014, an increase of 7% compared to the same period in 2013, and a new record. The increase, however, is due to a greater influx of visitors.
MADRID | The Corner | They keep coming and, more important, they spend more money, which adds to the recovery. Foreign tourists visiting Spain spent €2.63 billion in the first semester, a 7.8% more than in the same period of 2013, according to official data. British citizens are the biggest spenders, followed by the Germans. Tourism is a crucial sector of Spanish economy, accounting for more of 10% of GDP.
MADRID | The Corner | Spanish national tourism starts to reactivate: the number of travellers residing in Spain grew at the same rate than the number of residents abroad. The recovery in tourist expenditure of the Spanish households suggests that the private consumption may grow in the 2Q14 –although probably at a slower pace than in the previous quarters (+0.4%). The evolution of the heavy traffic in Spain’s toll motorways also points at a recovery in the domestic demand, which is a necessary component to compensate for the loss of pulse of the external sector and allow a new quarterly advance in the 2Q14 activity (+0.4%).
FRANKFURT | By Lidia Conde | Co-manager at Europe’s leading travel group TUI Oliver Dörschuck considers that “Spain is by far the most important tourist destination for TUI and its clients.” However, for him what matters most today is not the destination, but the hotel, which has to bring the best experience to the client.