ACCORDING to the Tourist Expenditure Survey (EGATUR), drafted by the Institute for Tourism Studies of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, spending in Spain by inbound tourists in March amounted to 3.28 billion euros, up 13.7% on the same month in 2012. The average spend per person of 963 euros and the average spend per day of 110 euros posted growth of 5.4% and 5.1%, respectively.

France, the Nordic countries and Germany were the emitting markets that contributed most to the growth this month, especially in the Canary Islands and Catalonia.

In the first three months of 2013, aggregate spending amounted to 9.31 billion euros; an increase of 8.4% on the first quarter of 2012.

The three main markets in the first quarter of the year were Germany, with spending of 1.56 billion euros and a year-on-year increase of 3.8%; the United Kingdom, whose tourists spent 1.53 billion euros in Spain with an increase of 3.5% on 2012; and the Nordic countries that, with 1.37 billion euros spent and a significant increase of 19.1%, posted better results than France in the period.

The Canary Islands was the autonomous region posting the largest volume of tourist spending between January and March, at 3.16 billion euros (up 7%). This region was followed by Catalonia, with 1.99 billion euros and an increase of 14.2% on the same period in the previous year. In third place, Andalucia posted a figure of 1.25 billion euros in the first three months of the year from tourist spending. This is an increase of 10.5%.

In March, Germany was the top emitting market in terms of spending (up 13.4%) and the autonomous region of Andalucia benefited most from this result, as did the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.

Tourists from the United Kingdom spent a total of 632 million euros (up 2.2% on March 2012), the focus for this increase being the regions of Andalucia and Catalonia. The spend per British tourist rose while their average spend per day remained stable.

Third place on the list was held by the Nordic countries, which spent a total of 558 million euros in Spain in March (up 25.7%). The Canary Islands (the main destination for these tourists) benefited the most from this growth.

However, the largest increase in tourist spending in Spain over the last month was posted by those tourists visiting from France. With a total figure of 400 million euros spent, the French market recorded tourist expenditure growth of 43.5%. Catalonia was the region that benefited most from this spending.

In a continuation of the trend seen in recent months, spending by Italian tourists in Spain fell. This figure fell by 18% in March, a decline that was particularly noticeable in Catalonia. However, Italian tourists increased their spending in Madrid and the Balearic Islands, as well as their average spends per person and per day.

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8 COMMENTS

  1. Those same Germans who talk crap about my country & then are the first to visit it & spend money there on their holidays…
    although it doesn’t surprise me. Who the hell ever heard of “a lovely trip to Germany”? I never have… no offence to the them, but Spain is a paradise! Too bad the politicians had to ruin its well-being.

  2. Tonio,
    sadly you are representative of way too many Spanish that cannot find the courage to see yourselves and your country for what you are and what it is.

    That you describe your country as a ‘paradise’ means that you have serious issues.

    These Germans that you despise along with the Dutch and Brits have given you a relatively modern country by way of hundreds of billions in subsidies. When I first visited Spain in 1968 you were at least 150 years behind northern Europe – no running water, no sewage systems and most working people were illiterate.

    You blame your politicians but you are all corrupt and all responsible for the way Spain is today.

    Right now hundreds of thousands of Spanish are demanding social security in northern Europe and Scandinavia.

    Right now there are 500,000 Spanish families who depend on charity for basic food.

    I happen to agree with you – all foreigners should leave Spain immediately and all Spanish should be repatriated back ,no more handouts, no more subsidies and you should be thrown out of the EU.

    What a paradise you would live in then.

  3. It’s so flaming obvious, to non imps, that Spain has to plough everything they have into promoting tourism. Tonio you’re the kind of problem attitude here that they have to get around. Then you hear of chairs and tables being banned from outside bars on the streets. Spain is punching itself in it’s own face with people who think like Tonio. TONILOCO!

  4. They may be out of work and struggling with financial disaster, but the Spanish have the highest healthy life expectancy in Europe – and beat Australia, Canada, Norway and the USA as well.

    Spain has an excellent healthcare system, ranked seventh in 2000 on the only occasion the World Health Organisation has compiled a league table. The UK was 18th. But it is not just the structures or even the skills of the doctors that matter. It is also the state of health of the people who arrive in the clinics. (Quote from The Guardian Newspaper)

  5. Stuart Crawford said “Right now hundreds of thousands of Spanish are demanding social security in northern Europe and Scandinavia”. But, as far as I know there are more British and Scandinavian people living in Spain than Spaniards living in Northern European countries.

  6. Stuart Crawford said “You blame your politicians but you are all corrupt and all responsible for the way Spain is today”. Your comment is full of prejudice. There are corrupt citizens and politicians in Germany, Britain and the Netherlands also. You are lucky cause your country does not depend on the construction sector as Spain. The financial crisis did not hit your country due to different economic circumstances. As an American I look at your comment and I just laugh out loud. Spain was not well developed in the 1968, but Germany and The Netherlands were destroyed in the 40s and the Americans helped them. Spain have always been a loner in Europe, as Rusia. The Spanish Miracle of 60s and 70s is the result of the effort and perseverence of the Spanish people. No German, Brit or Duth had helped the Spanish people. You are suffering delusions of grandeur.

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