Spanish Summer Tourism Up 20-30%

Spanish Summer Tourism Up 20-30%

what a wonderful years Spain has had from all the extra tourism

Spain has seen a surge in popularity thanks to being one of the most accessible, beautiful, welcoming and now safest countries in Europe for summer sun. The World Travel and Tourism Council are touting the rising terror threats along the eastern and southern Mediterranean as being the primary reason Spain has seen a bumper summer this year.

The head of the WTTC, David Scowsill, says that Spain is expected to see a 20-30% increase in the number of tourists flocking to the country by the end of the summer. The current climate is also benefiting Portugal and Italy and boosting their tourism numbers.

Scowsill says that the perception of security plays a major role in choosing a holiday destination. Turkey, Egypt, France and Tunisia have all seen an increase in terrorism and, with that, a drop in tourism as travellers choose safer destinations such as Spain.

WTTC data shows that Egypt is seeing around half of the tourists that they usually do and the reputation of France has become seriously damaged following the spate of deadly terrorist attacks across the country.

Turkey has become majorly affected as the country has seen some of the worst terrorist attacks and it also shares a border with Iraq and Syria; the two “home countries” of ISIS.

This particular trend has been noticed by more than just the WTTC. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) are also expecting that 2016 will be a year of broken records for Spain. The representative for the ABTA, Sean Tipton, said that Spain will definitely see record numbers of tourists from all around the world including the UK.

This strong summer system will really benefit Spain. It will provide a much needed boost to the employment figures of the country but will also increase the chances of tourists coming back year after year and increasing numbers even further next year. Spain saw 32 million tourists during the first half of the year. This was half of the number for all of 2015 and it doesn’t include the two busiest months of July and August.

These holidaymakers will provide a big boost to the local economy where they stay but they may also decide to become Spanish property owners; boosting the economy even further. All in all 2016 looks to be a great year for Spain!