Advertisement

Spain's tourism revenue forecast to hit record in 2023

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Spain's tourism revenue forecast to hit record in 2023
Visitors are once again jamming the narrow streets of Barcelona's narrow Gothic quarter since global travel bounced back from the pandemic in 2022. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)

Spain’s tourism sector is expected to post record revenue in 2023 for the second year in a row despite high inflation, the Exceltur tourism association said Thursday.

Advertisement

Spain’s tourism sector is expected to post record revenue in 2023 for the second year in a row despite high inflation, the Exceltur tourism association said Thursday.

It predicted tourism earnings will reach €172.2 billion ($189 billion) after a “very good start of the year” and the “positive expectations” of the sector.

This would be an 8.3 percent increase over the record €159 billion registered in 2022, and a 9.4 percent increase over 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the sector.

“This central scenario is based on the continuation of strong domestic demand and the consolidation of the recovery” in the European countries from which most foreign tourists come, the group said in a statement.

Spain’s tourism industry should also benefit this year from an increase in visitors from further away such as Asia and North America as pandemic travel restrictions have been lifted, it added.

Spain, the world’s second most popular tourist destination after France, welcomed in 2022 some 71.6 million foreign visitors, mainly from Britain, France and Germany.

Advertisement

While this was up from the 31.1 million who visited in 2021, it was still below the record 83.7 million foreign visitors who arrived in 2019 before the pandemic hit the sector.

Tourism accounts for some 12 percent of Spain’s gross domestic output and the drop in arrivals hit the eurozone’s fourth largest economy hard.

Exceltur groups Spain’s hotels, resorts, transport companies, car rentals and entertainment businesses.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also