Spanish Tourism Set to Grow 3.2% in 2017
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| Tourist smash all records and looks to continue the trend |
Spanish tourism grew by 4.9% in 2016, and it’s expected to
grow another 3.2% in 2017 according to the latest data from Exceltur; a tourism
promotion group.
Exceltur is estimating that over 75.4 million tourists
headed to Spain last year thanks to a combination of factors, including the
appeal of Spain and the professional tourism industry of the culture, created
the perfect storm.
It’s expected that things won’t change much this year
either, except that the growth won’t be as rapid as it was last year. Exceltur
suggests there are a few reasons this is the case, including the potential
slide of the pound against the euro, which will deter British travellers from leaving the country.
Even so, the country is still yet to see the impact of
Brexit. It’s now unlikely to really change tourism numbers in Spain much. Other
factors worked well for Spain last year; the main factor was the rise of
terrorism in other Mediterranean countries. With luck this won’t be such a big
factor this year, but no one can really predict this.
Extra stability will be provided by the settled Spanish
government, which will contribute to the idea that a stable country is one
worth visiting.
Tourism was responsible for 11% of Spanish GDP last year, as
over 80,000 jobs were created in the tourism sector during 2016. The experts add that this year in Spain could see similar numbers.
