Madrid. The number of foreign tourists in Spain rose by 13 percent in the first half of 2024, putting the country on track for another record year for visitor numbers, despite growing discontent over the impact of the holiday industry in some tourist areas.
In the six months to the end of June, 42.5 million international visitors came to Spain, with a 12 percent increase to 9 million in June alone as the summer period approached, the National Statistics Institute reported on Friday.
This means that 2024 is shaping up to be another record year for Spain, which is already the second most visited country in the world behind France, and is likely to surpass last year’s record of 85 million tourists, when pre-pandemic levels were surpassed.
Some Spaniards in popular destinations such as Mallorca, Barcelona and the Canary Islands are increasingly concerned about the influx of tourists and its impact on housing costs, sparking protests.
In early July, a small group of anti-tourism activists in Barcelona fired water pistols at foreign visitors, shouting “tourists, go home.”
The data show that tourists spent €12.3 billion in Spain in June, 17 percent more than in the same month last year, helping to boost economic growth but highlighting the challenge for a government trying to find the right balance between tourism and local interests.
The lack of affordable housing in Spain has been partly blamed on the rise of holiday rentals on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com.
According to data published on Friday, tourists are increasingly choosing to stay in rented apartments. In the first half of the year, the number of visitors staying in such accommodation increased by 30 percent, while the number of those staying in hotels increased by 11 percent.
#Spain #track #break #tourist #record
– 2024-08-10 12:34:42
