The tourist indicators have been pointing to a summer that will be historic in terms of spending and that would be on the verge of reaching unprecedented heights also in terms of the arrival of international travelers. At the moment, with data from the first semester provided by the Frontur statistics, Spain reached 37.5 million, which is why they were barely 1.6% below pre-pandemic levels. The figures provided this Monday by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism through Turespaña confirm this trend.
In July, passengers from international airports who arrived in the country were close to 10.3 million, 11.5% more than in the same month a year ago (in relation to the best historical data, from July 2019, the published figure is barely a 1.62% lower). In the accumulated from January to July, Spain received a total of 53.49 million passengers from international airports, 21.6% more than those registered in the same period of the previous year but still 1.7% below the records prior to the health crisis.
All the issuing markets improved their figures in the middle of the summer season. 56% of all passengers came from the European Union -which increased the number of travelers by 11.4% year-on-year-, while those from the rest of the world accounted for the remaining 44% and rose by 11.7%. In relation to the same dates last year, the markets that registered the greatest rise were Poland (up 34.7%), Portugal (23.3% rise) and Italy (18.8%).
However, the United Kingdom and Germany were once again the origin of most international tourists, accounting for 24.1 and 14.2% of total arrivals, respectively. By destination, the Balearic Islands (28.7% of passengers) and the Canary Islands (20.1%) were the main ones, followed by Catalonia (19.6%) and Madrid (19.4%).
Both international organizations and the sector itself anticipate that the contribution of this activity to the economy will return to pre-pandemic levels and allow a greater increase in GDP in the year than initially estimated. Recently, the International Monetary Fund revised upwards, up to 2.5%, its growth forecast for Spain for the whole of the rapid financial year in this thesis and in the “solidity” that services have been showing in general.
From Exceltur, the platform for tourism excellence, they calculate that the sector will contribute around 12.6% to the economy, thus recovering the weight it held before the shock caused by the pandemic. In nominal terms, it will thus reach 178,831 million euros. If the effect of inflation is taken into account, tourism GDP would close in real terms 1% below the levels registered in a record 2019.
For now, the data published this Monday “certify the sweet summer that the sector is experiencing at all levels, with a record of spending and tourist arrivals and with a horizon of model change towards quality and sustainability that is already unstoppable”, in the opinion of the acting minister, Héctor Gómez.
