Brits spent €3.25m an hour in Spain in August

All over Spain, be it the Balearics, Canaries or Costa del Sol, Brits are spending more than ever.

The value of British tourism to Spain has been laid bare in the latest official data that showed UK holidaymakers spent a massive €3.25 million every hour during the month of August.

Tourism, which is 11% of Spain’s GDP, is on course for a record year in 2017, with August’s visitor figures showing that 10.43 million people visited the country that month – the highest monthly figure ever recorded…

The National Statistics Institute (INE) data revealed that, while in Spain, holidaymakers spent a collective €11,342 million over August, which breaks down to €15.25 million every hour.

Brits alone poured €2,418 million into Spain’s coffers during August, which represents a 6.3% increase on August 2016 and 21.4% of all international tourism economic activity.

Meanwhile, spending by French and German holidaymakers rose by 3.1 and 4.1% respectively. The highest increase, however, came among Scandinavian tourists who spent €558 million in Spain in August – a massive 31% increase in the space of a year.

Beyond these strong markets, spending in Spain by the “rest of the world” increased 16.7%, accounting for almost half – 45.5% – of the total amount spent.

Taken as a year-to-date figure, the first eight months of tourist expenditure in Spain reached €60,461 million, which is an increase of 14.2% and a strong indication that the 12 months of 2017 will register a new record figure. Brits are on course to account for 20.4% of all foreign spending in the country this year (€12,316 million), which is an increase of 10.9%.