Spain witnessed a significant milestone in its tourism recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as it welcomed over 10 million foreign tourists in July, marking the first time ever, according to the Spanish Statistical Office (INE) on Friday.
The INE’s study, “Tourist Movements at Borders” (Frontur), revealed that in July, 10.1 million foreign tourists visited Spain. This figure represented an 11.4 percent increase compared to July 2022 and a 2.6 percent increase compared to the previous record set in 2019.
Additionally, tourist spending experienced growth, with a 16.4 percent increase compared to 2022 and a 16 percent increase compared to four years ago.
During the first seven months of 2023, Spain welcomed 47.6 million foreign tourists, indicating an almost 21 percent growth compared to 2022. However, this number was 0.8 percent lower when compared to 2019. Tourist spending from January to July also increased by 14.7 percent.
The United Kingdom remains Spain’s largest source market, with 9.8 million British tourists visiting the country in the first seven months of this year. Following behind are 6.4 million French tourists and six million German tourists. The number of visitors from the United States increased by 28.9 percent, while those from Portugal and Italy rose by 18.5 percent and 17.8 percent, respectively.
Additionally, the INE saw a significant surge of 49.9 percent in the number of tourists coming from the “rest of the world,” including Chinese travelers.
Hector Gomez, Spain’s acting Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, expressed his satisfaction with the results, stating that “for the first time we exceeded 10 million travelers in July, accompanied by extraordinary levels of tourist spending, which show the potential of Spain as a quality, attractive, and sustainable destination for the world.”
Credit: The Star : News Feed
