Robert Firth
SPAIN pocketed over €40 million from the travel and tourism industry during the first seven months of 2019, an increase of 3.6% on the same period the previous year.
It means that the Spanish tourism sector is on course for the tenth consecutive year of growth, since the 2008 global recession.
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Income from tourism increased by €1.39 million, meaning that Spain earnt a massive €40,134,000 from tourism between January and July.
But challenges to the sector lie ahead.
The collapse of travel giant Thomas Cook is expected to cause the immediate closure of 500 hotels in Spain, according to the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation.
29.6 million foreign tourists are expected to set foot on Spanish shores in the third quarter of 2019, an increase of almost 2% on the previous year.
48 million international tourists arrived in Spain during the first seven months of the year, a 2% increase on the same period last year.
Even better for Spain, the amount of money these tourists are spending is increasing. Total tourist expenditure reached €52.36 million euros between January and July 2019.
Tourists in July were on average spending €150 a day, 4.9% more than they were at the same time last year.
