Surge in Spain Tourism Gives Country a Boost during Recession

For Spain, the silver lining in the rough economic period that the country is currently in has been tourism. As Spanish officials pour over grim reports, the country’s tourism continues to thrive.

Through June, Spanish tourism earned 13,875,600 million more euros, than it did in the first six months of last year, a growth of 4.7 percent, according to Banco de España. Some 24.4 million visitors arrived through June, up 4.2 percent.

If July is included, Spain achieved a historical record with 34 million foreign tourists, 3.9 percent more than in the same period in 2012. Average daily spending rose by 2.1 percent to 108 Euros, while the average spend per tourist increased 2 percent to 949 euros.

Spain also sees tourism as a vehicle for spreading economic benefits beyond the cities and the seafront resort towns to hard hit rural areas. José Manuel Soria, Spain’s Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, speaking at the Tourism Sector Congress, highlighted the coming Green Star system for rating rustic accommodations such as inns and B&Bs. The new Green Star rating classification will be adopted by all of the Spanish regions, except Catalonia.

A Promotion of Rural Tourism Plan also was presented at the congress. The plan was created in order to spread seasonality and to direct tourism flow to lesser known regions. Spain believes the best chance for these regions comes from sophisticated short-haul markets in Germany and France with travelers looking to go off the beaten path.

Source: Travel Pulse, http://www.travelpulse.com/surge-in-spain-tourism-gives-country-a-boost-during-recession.html