Spain breaks all records in generating tourism revenue

MADRID: Although Madrid’s tourism scenario isn’t something to write home about, Spain’s tourism announced Monday it raked in a record 59 billion euros ($81 billion) from foreign tourists

in 2013, luring an unprecedented number of visitors of whom many splurged more holiday cash than expected.

Foreign tourists in Spain boosted overall spending by 9.6 per cent year-on-year in 2013,
government figures showed, a significant boost to the fragile Spanish economy, which depends on tourism for more than 10 per cent of its economic activity.

“Spain closed 2013 with a historic record in international tourism spending,” the tourism ministry said in a statement.

British tourists, who flocked to Spain in the greatest numbers, spent a total of 12 billion euros, about one-fifth of the total.

They were followed by the Germans who splashed out 9.7 billion euros and the French who
spent 5.9 billion euros, the government said.

Russian tourists boosted spending by the greatest margin, lifting expenditure by 29 per cent to 2.35 billion euros in 2013, accounting for four per cent of the total, it said.

Spain had announced last week it had taken the world’s number three spot for international tourists in 2013, overtaking China by luring a record 60.6 million visitors, up 5.6 per cent from the previous year. Spain now stands behind only France with 83 million international tourist arrivals and the United States with 67 million, it said.