Spain has been plagued with bad economic news of late, but things are looking up for Britain’s favourite holiday destination. “Spain had one of the best summers in its history for tourism,” the government said in a statement.
A survey conducted by Frontur, part of the Spanish Institute for Tourism Studies, showed the country received 20.9 million tourists between January and September and experienced the third busiest summer season since records began.
The figures represent an increase of 8.5 per cent from the previous summer, proving that tourists were not deterred by news of riots and protests against government cuts.
Spain has managed to post strong gains despite economic uncertainty in Europe and United States. Experts believe that unrest in North Africa has been the major reason for the bumper year. Tourists who once turned towards cheap beach destinations in North Africa have returned to Spain due to the current politican uncertainty in Egypt and Tunisia.
The tourism minister of Spain believes that while North Africa unrest has helped Spain, marketing campaigns have played a major role for the tourism industry. Spain has managed to penetrate markets like India and Russia this year. Strong arrivals from these 2 BRIC nations have helped the hospitality sector.
This year Spain attracted the maximum number of tourists from England and Germany followed by France and Netherlands. Balearic Islands were the most popular destination among with 9 million foreign tourists this year.
