Spain’s tourism figures for the first four months of this year are better than even the most optimistic forecasts. The Minister for Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Miguel Sebastián, reported on Tuesday that the number of foreign visitors to Spain was up by 8.5 per cent between January and April this year.
He added that the average spending per tourist had increased by 0.2 per cent in the same period “There are more and more foreign tourists in Spain, spending more in the main destinations”, he stressed.In the case of Andalucía, the increase in the number of foreign visitors was 8.1 per cent. Between January and April the region welcomed 1.9 million tourists from outside Spain, 14.4 per cent of the country’s total.
These figures augur well for the summer season. The results offer evidence that the industry, on which the local, regional and national economies depend so heavily, has seen the worst of the global financial crisis and is heading for recovery. The minister said that an increase of ten per cent has been forecast for this summer in reservations for Spanish holidays made in the UK, Germany and France.
A report published this week by the Exceltur Tourist Alliance highlights Marbella, Benalmádena and Estepona as the Costa del Sol resorts that have benefitted most from tourism profitability in the first four months of this year. In Marbella, at the top of the table, employment in the sector increased by 6.6 per cent during this period and the average revenue per available room (RevPAR) was up 21.4 per cent. Marbella was followed by Benalmádena where 3.6 per cent more jobs were created and revenue was up 32.5 per cent. In Estepona, tourism employment fell by 2.9 per cent but the increase in revenue per room was as high as 30 per cent.
The study of tourism profitability and employment concludes that the Costa del Sol, the Canaries and the Balearics are the only Spanish regions to have benefitted from the effect of the revolts earlier this year in other tourist destinations.
