Alex Trelinski
SPAIN is expecting a healthy tourist Easter with foreign visitors projected to return to 80% of 2019 levels- the year before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.
Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdes, unveiled a survey on Friday conducted by marketing consultants ForwardKeys.
The firm claims that flight bookings to Spain for the Easter period are just 13% down on 2019 and the country remains in the world’s top five holiday destinations.
Scandinavia appears to be an ever-blossoming market with 44% more air travellers set to arrive from Denmark than in 2019 according to Forward Keys, followed by Sweden (+39%) and Columbia (+37%) in third place.
UK visitors flying into Spain are expected to rise by 13%.
The government forecast is that 5.7 million people will travel to Spain this year compared to 7.2 million in April 2019.
Some parts of Spain are projected to do even better than in 2019, with the Balearic Islands showing a 14% rise in Easter reservations.
The Canary Islands and the Valencian Community show a modest 3% fall in bookings, while Andalucia is down by 8% on three years ago.
Looking ahead to the summer, reservations are currently 30% down on 2019 figures, but most bookings happen four to six weeks beforehand.
Asked about the impact of the Ukraine crisis on tourism, Fernando Valdes said: “Easter isn’t showing any direct impact from uncertainty caused by the conflict.”
He added that any future effect on tourism would depend on the duration of war and intensity.
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