Brits Spent €3.25m an Hour in Spain During August

Brits Spent €3.25m an Hour in Spain During August

Brits love affair with Spain continues as they send

a record amount in August

The value of British tourism to Spain has been clearly defined with the latest official data showing that holidaymakers from the UK spent an average of €3.25 million an hour during August.

Tourism, which accounts for 11% of Spanish GDP, is set to break records once again in 2017, with the visitor numbers from August showing 10.43 million people visited the country during the month – the highest monthly figure ever.

The National Statistics Institute (INE) data showed that holidaymakers spent €11,324 million in Spain during August; which works out at €15.25 million each and every hour.

British tourists alone threw €2,418 million in the Spanish economy during August, which is an increase of 6.3% over last year and accounts for over a fifth of all economic activity from foreign tourists.

French and German holidaymakers increased their spending as well; by 3.1% and 4.1% respectively. The highest increase was found with Scandinavian tourists, who spent a total of €558 million in Spain during august, a whopping 31% increase over last year.

Outside of the strongest markets, the rest of the world spent an average of 16.7 more in Spain; accounting for 45.5% of the total amount spent in the country.

When looked at as a year-to-date figure, the first eight months of the year saw €60,461 million spent in Spain by tourists, a 14.2% increase over last year and a great indication that 2017 will set new records. Brits are set to account for around 20.4% of overall foreign spending in Spain for 2017 (€12,316 million), an annual increase of 10.9%.

Data Shows Spain has Regained Half of Jobs Lost During Recession

Data Shows Spain has Regained Half of Jobs Lost During Recession

Spain really turned things around in 2016 and it looks like the success is set to continue into 2017. One particularly great statistic is that the Labour Ministry released data showing that Spain has now recovered 1.7 million of the 3.5 million jobs that were lost in the country during the recession.

Spain is recovering from all downturns even jobs

Over 540,000 Spanish people entered the workforce during 2016. This was the largest annual employment growth in over a decade and is a sign that the country has managed to succeed following the post-election reforms; adjusting perfectly to the improving economic situations of Europe.

Labour Minister Fátima Báñez says that there were 390,534 less people registered as unemployed in 2016; the largest drop ever in unemployment. Báñez said that the year was filled with confidence and hope and, while the journey isn’t over yet, Spain will continue to create jobs thanks to the efforts of everyone involved.

It’s incredible to look at the most recent employment charts for Spain. Around 2008 there was a sharp dip in the amount of Spaniards registered as employees (meaning they had a social security number), and it reached a peak low of 16.2 million in 2013. There has been an encouraging rise since then, and it’s expect that there will be over 18 million people in work by the end of 2017; the first time this number has been reached since 2009, before the recession really crippled the country.

There’s a lot of optimism to go around following a growth in GDP of 3% last year, along with predictions that this year will see similar rises and the cost of living being kept low. The end of the political deadlock after 10-months of seemingly endless fighting has also come to an end and left behind a government in the People’s Party that will need to learn the value of compromise.

While some are worried about the influence that the far-left Podemos and the centre-let Socialists could have on the PP, and that it could lead to less of the successful labour reforms Mariano Rajoy introduced when he held a majority government not being allowed to pass anymore, there are some economists who feel that the country can survive without additional reform.

It looks like the most sensible move to make would be to continue on the current path. Báñez says that the PP is ready to sit down with the other political parties to discuss how labour reforms could be improved, and promised that none of the changes to laws implemented, such as making it easier or employees to be hired and fired, would be repealed.

Spain Regains Half of Jobs Lost During the Recession

Spain Regains Half of Jobs Lost During the Recession

The Spanish recovery of 2016 is expected to continue into 2017, and things are already off to a good start as the Spanish Labour Ministry recently released data showing that Spain has regained 1.7 million of the 3.5 million jobs that were lost when the country was hit by recession.

Spain continues its recovery with many jobs being created

Over half a million Spanish people found work during 2016. This is the most people that have found work in a single year in Spain in over a decade, and it’s a great sign of the success Spain has seen following post-recession reforms and adapting to the changing European economy.

Labour Minister Fátima Báñez revealed that the number of Spanish people who are considered to be unemployed fell by 390,534 in 2016, which is the highest amount ever. Báñez said that the year was filled with confidence and hope and, while there is still some distance to go, jobs will continue to be created in Spain thanks to all the effort everyone is putting in.

It’s incredible to look at the most recent employment charts for Spain. The amount of Spaniards who are officially classed as employees and have a social security number started to dip in 2008, reaching a low of 16.2 million during 2013. There has been an encouraging rise since then with over 18 million Spaniards expected to be in work during 2017; which would be the highest figure since 2009; before the recession really hit the country.

With the economy growing by 3% last year, and a further 3% growth expected this year, there’s a lot of optimism to go around. The end of the 10-month political deadlock has also contributed to this optimism as well as introducing a government that will need to know the value of compromising.

There may be some sceptics who are worried about how the Socialists and Podemos could prevent the labour reforms that Mariano Rajoy was able to introduce in his last term, but there are also many economists suggesting that the country will not need such reforms to succeed anyway.

It certainly looks like the next step for living in Spain is to continue with the current course. Báñez is suggesting that the PP government could come together to discuss how the labour reforms could be “improved”, and promising that the government would not retract any of their changes to the law; such as simplifying the hiring and firing process.

Property Sales in Spain Reach Second-Highest For Five Years During Third Quarter

Property Sales in Spain Reach Second-Highest For Five Years During Third Quarter

The Costa del Sol and Spain continue its property recovery

The latest data from the Spanish property registrar shows that a total of 103,055 homes traded hands in Spain between July and the end of September; representing the second-best quarterly performance in Spain for five years.

When compared to the third quarter of 2015 there were 11.1% more homes sold in the third quarter of 2016 as the property market became more active during 2016.

The third quarter was also up 4.4% over the second quarter of 2016 and showed the trend of each quarter being stronger than the last has continued since it began in 2010.

When you look at the 12 months leading to September there were 394,000 homes sold in Spain overall. This is an increase of 13.2% over the previous 12 months. 2015 itself was also a continuation of the growth the market saw in 2014, which is when the property market began to recover from years of contraction.

To look back even further shows that the amount of homes sold throughout Spain in the third quarter is the second-best quarter for five years; beaten out only by the fourth quarter of 2011 in which there was a mass fire sale of distressed properties.

Many experts expect that this upward trend will continue on into 2017 and the years after; thanks to the economic recovery of Spain and the consistent appeal the country has for being a premier destination for going on holiday and purchasing property to the people of Europe and the world as a whole.

Not everyone was feeling the positivity however as the data showed that the average price for property sold in the third quarter was 1.4% the average price from the second quarter.

Experts explained away the shrinking average price – prices in Spain have been increasing for around 18 months now – saying that it was mostly due to a shrinking number of new build homes being sold. New build homes are usually more expensive than a resale home and so they can provide the average sale price with a healthy boost.

The data from the registrar shows that only 17.1% of the homes sold in the third quarter were new builds, which was down from the 21% from the quarter before.

Even though there was a small fall in the average property price your average home in Spain is still being sold for around 3.3% more than it was this time in 2015.

Brits Spend Over €74 million a Day In Spain During August

Brits Spend Over €74 million a Day In Spain During August

Tourist spending has been at an all time high.

Brits really dug deep into their pockets during August;spending money on drinks, food, shopping, and hotels.

If people still doubted that British were vital to the Spanish tourism industry then the recent statistics from the tourism ministry will remove those doubts. The latest data shows that British tourists accounted for 22.3% of the tourist spending in August.

This came to a grand total of €2.3 billion spent by Brits throughout Spain during August, or €74.6 million each day. This works out at around €116 per person, per day.

This data is a reflection of the strong tourism trends of Spain in 2016. All the indications are that Spain will see record visitor numbers in 2016. Though for the brits this is just a continuation of the decades-old trend. It just shows that Spain is still deep in the hearts of many UK holidaymakers.

The Spanish economy was boosted by an extra €334 million each day thanks to the tourism in August. As well as Brits the French and German tourists were spending their fair; making up roughly 14% of the tourism spend for August.

Brits spent an overall 3.5% more this August compared to last year, while German tourists spent around 0.2% more and French tourists spent a whopping 9.1% more.

The only downside to the news was that average spending per person was actually down a little compared to 2015. The average tourist spend was €116 per person, which is down 1.9% compared to last year when compared against the average time that people spent in the country.

Even though more people are coming to Spain they are spending slightly less over last summer. This is really only a tiny negative mark on what has otherwise been an incredibly positive Spanish summer season though.

Regions across all of Spain are celebrating as most places are reporting record highs in terms of tourism spending. Tourists have currently spent €53.3 billion so far this year in Spain, which is 7.1% higher than last year. A statistic to put everything into perspective is that Spanish tourists spent more in the year leading up to August than they did in all of 2012, and there’s still four months of 2016 left.

The Brits still make up the bulk of the spending in the first eight months of the year. Brits accounted for 21.1% of all spending; an increase of 11.8% over 2015.