A record 94 million international travelers visited Spain in 2024 in the best year for tourism in the country since records started, the tourism minister said Wednesday.
It is Spain’s second record year since 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic halted leisure travel abroad while tourism recovered around the world. The wave of arrivals comes at a time when the real estate crisis in Spain has been in the spotlight.
Spain ranks as the highest moment of the moment in the world, after France, in the United Nations world tourism barometer.
The number of foreign visitors in 2024 amounted to 10% on the mark set in 2023, when another 83. 5 million people visited the country, said Jordi, the Minister of Industry and Tourism.
Foreign visitors reached 126 billion euros ($129. 8 billion) in the last 12 months, 16% more than the 108. 7 billion euros ($117 billion) spent in 2023, the minister said. Tourism represents 12. 3% of the country’s gross domestic product.
Spain is one of the most popular sun and beach destinations, but 32% more travelers said they visited the country last year for cultural reasons and culinary travel increased by 28%, compared to 2019, according to the Tourism Ministry.
Outdoor travel during the summer months and the growing popularity of domestic destinations – beyond Barcelona, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands – were key to the new brand, the ministry said. In addition to its classic European market, the Spanish tourism sector has noticed an expansion among visitors from the United States, Latin America and Asia.
Many countries have set new tourism records following the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, international arrivals have reached 98% of 2019 levels in January-September 2024, according to the U.N. barometer.
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