Spain follows France and USA as the most popular tourism destinations in 2013

Spain has taken the third spot in world tourism in 2013 as foreign tourists surged to by 5.6 per cent. It has suitably managed to overthrow China by attracting 60.6 million international

visitors. This has also boosted the eurozone’s fourth largest economy which was much needed in the job wrecked economy.

However, France still continues to remain the world’s most popular country for visitors with 83 million international tourist arrivals. But Spain trails just behind France along with the United States with 67 million.

The Spanish economy has received a huge boost as the recession had considerably jolted its spirit with a 26 per cent unemployment rate.  International tourists have spent in the first 11 months of 2013 8.7 per cent from the same period last year to 55.9 billion euros ($76 billion).

The tourism industry accounted for 10.9 per cent of Spain’s total economic output in 2012, and 11.9 per cent of all jobs, the prime minister said. Spain was most visited by British tourists in 2013 with 14.3 million of them accounting for 23.6 per cent of all foreign tourists.

Next came Germany with 16.2 per cent of the total, France with 15.7 percent, and Nordic countries with eight percent.

Russian tourists accounted for 2.6 per cent of the total, but their numbers showed the biggest leap, soaring by 31.6 per cent from the previous year.

The most visited destination in France was Catalonia, which drew 15.5 million foreign visitors, or 25.7 percent of the total, followed by the Balearic Islands such as Majorca with 11.1 million international arrivals, or 18.3 per cent of the total. Tourism in Spain will grow by 1.8 per cent in 2014. Due to political turmoil in Egypt, Spain made significant gains with its inviting Mediterranean braches and temperate climate all providing the perfect blend for tourists.

While Egypt lost 2.5 million tourists from June up to the end of the year, Spain gained almost 3 million tourists. There has been a 0.1-percent growth in the third quarter and a 0.3 per cent rise in the final quarter of 2013 after the two year downturn. The Spanish government is confident that an overall economic expansion of 0.7 per cent will take place in 2014