Spain breaks yet more tourism records

Spain continues to attract holidaymakers in their millions, and is more popular than ever

Spain’s Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism released official figures last week that showed Spain’s enduring appeal among holidaymakers shows no signs of slowing.

According to the survey conducted by Frontur and commissioned by the Ministry, Spain welcomed 6.8 million tourists in May, which is an all-time record for the month. That figure was boosted by a 6.9 per cent increase in British visitors, an 8.1 per cent increase in German tourists, and a massive 11.1 per cent rise in the number of French visiting…Generally, nationalities from all over the world have upped their love for Spain, aside from the Portuguese and Americans, where visitor numbers were down two and nine per cent respectively.

In Spain, it was the Canary Islands that saw the biggest increase in foreign visitors, enjoying a 13.1 per cent surge in holidaymakers, followed swiftly by Andalucia (home to the Costa del Sol) with a 10.1 per cent rise.

Largely, overseas visitors arrived by plane (84 per cent), with Malaga airport the busiest in Spain during May. Last year, Spain officially became the world’s third-most visited country, overtaking China to place just behind the USA and France.

Tourism spending in 2013 also broke new records as package holiday makers shunned Spain’s rival sunspots of Turkey and Egypt amid political unrest in, or near, those countries. In total, foreign visitors to Spain spent a whopping €59.8 billion in 2013 – further underlining just how important tourism is to the country’s economy.