74 million tourists expected in Spain in 2016, says agency

Sunshine, sea and sand are guaranteed in Spain, while the security situation appears relatively stronger than in many resorts elsewhere.

Madrid-based tourism agency Exceltur is forecasting that Spain will welcome 74 million tourists over the course of 2016 – smashing last year’s record of 68 million visitors…

As the summer season moves smoothly into top gear, Spain’s leading agency for tourism believes that the country will become the world’s most popular destination before the year is out, due in part to the recent spate of terrorist attacks in France, a traditional tourism rival, and the ongoing security concerns bedevelling other Mediterranean destinations.

Portugal, too, is expected to see as much as a 30% increase in tourists this year as holidaymakers opt for the safer resorts of the Iberian peninsula.

Of course, nowhere in Europe is immune completely from terrorism, but with Spain’s last attack some 12 years ago, and the government’s intelligence among the best on the continent after decades combating the threat of ETA, as resort destinations go, Spain is top dog for an increasingly nervous and cautious sun-seeking crowd.

Visitor spending in Spain is already up 7.8% per head this year, which also suggests that improved European economies are also having a positive impact on tourism, with more and more holidaymakers feeling more confident to splash the cash and loosen the purse strings.

Brits, Germans and Scandinavians continue to represent the bulk of visitors to Spain, but Exceltur is also predicting an uptick in visitors from France – many of whom will be holidaying overseas for the first time in a long time, driven away from their own resorts by the spectre of terrorism – and also from Eastern European destinations such as Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.