Spain welcomed a record 21.8 million international visitors this summer, official data showed on Wednesday. An influx of tourism has led to some protests in the country.
That figure was an increase of 7.3 percent compared to the summer of 2023, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said.
Spain, the world’s most popular tourist destination after France, received 10.9 million visitors in July and the same number again in August, INE said.
The economic impact of tourism is “a great success for the well-being, social cohesion and economic development of Spain,” said Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu at an event organized by tourism promotion agency Turespana in Tenerife, Canary Islands.
In a nod to people dissatisfied with excess tourism, Hereu said Spain must “transform” its model for the sector, which needs to be diversified and decentralized.
The influx of tourists has not pleased all Spaniards, with protesters making their feelings known in recent months, particularly in Barcelona, Malaga in Andalusia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.
Protesters complained about pressure on infrastructure, pollution and noise pollution.
They were also angry about rising rental prices, as many properties were rented out to tourists on a short-term basis at lucrative prices.
Several regions responded, with Barcelona saying it would end renting apartments to tourists by 2029.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s socialist government is working to set up a register of tourist and seasonal stays.
– On the way to annual record –
The most common nationality of tourists in Spain during the summer was British, with 4.17 million British visitors.
Next were France (3.75 million), Germany (2.49 million) and Italy (1.35 million).
There was also a 13 percent increase in the number of American tourists to 850,000.
Spain received a total of 64.8 million tourists in the first eight months of the year – another record, according to INE.
The most popular destinations they visited were Catalonia, the region that includes Barcelona, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.
With more visitors came more money and tourism revenues rose 17.6 percent to 86.7 billion euros ($95.9 billion) in an eight-month period.
That amounts to 187 euros spent per tourist, per day.
According to Exceltur, an organization founded by the leaders of the main tourist groups in Spain, 90 million tourists are expected during 2024.
That would easily beat the previous record of 85.1 million people last year.
Tourism revenues are expected to exceed 200 billion euros, which would increase the sector’s contribution to the Spanish economy to 13.2 percent, according to Exceltur.
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