Data Shows Spain’s Job Revival is Due to Tourism and Manufacturing

Data Shows Spain’s Job Revival is Due to Tourism and Manufacturing

The next few years looks very bright for Spain

as I continues its recovery 

Figures don’t mean much out of context, which is why the recovering GDP of Spain may sound good, but people could be left cold without understand just what everything means.

As the economists are cheering a projected 3.2% increase in Spanish GDP for 2017, the average Spaniard, along with expats and holidaymakers, are left wondering what it all means for them.

To put things simply, it all means that there are plenty of new opportunities for employment in Spain, which means that consumer spending is up, tax revenue for the government is up, and property prices and supply are also up.

The latest official data, shows that the tourism and manufacturing sectors are the two key pillars supporting the economic success of Spain.

The National Statistics Institute (INE) has revealed 3.9 million people in Spain were out of work at the end of June, a decrease from the 4.25 million from the end of March. In the period between March and June, around 272,400 jobs were created across the tourism industry as the country prepares for the busy summer season.

While most of those jobs are likely to be seasonal, estimates show that around 30% of them could last for longer if the economic recovery continues.

Additional data provided by market analysts ISH Markit show that Spanish manufacturing firms had their highest increase in employment for over 19 years during July – primarily to keep up with demand for Spanish goods including cars.

This all lead to last month being the strongest month for Spanish job creation since way back in May 1998, according to the Financial Times.

To add to this, data from the Bank of Spain has shown that the average net wealth of the Spanish family is increasing by around 6.9% per year, which means not only is the average Spaniard more secure in their job with more spending money, but also it means average personal debt levels are dropping.

No matter how you look at it, the Spanish economy is no doubt going through some encouraging times, which is encouraging for the people of Spain.

Spain Set for Fifth Consecutive Annual Increase in Tourism

Spain Set for Fifth Consecutive Annual Increase in Tourism 

Tourism continues to break all records 

Spain is set to smash through the tourism figures of last year, which would mean Spain will register five consecutive years of annual increases in visitor numbers according to the latest data from tourism industry group Exceltur. 

The group is forecasting that tourism in 2017 could increase 4.17% over last year, which translates to around 80 million tourists heading to Spain. 

Over 75 million tourists headed to the Spanish sun last year, and Exceltur’s estimate is higher than the current 3.2% estimated increase. The upgrade comes as a result of a better-than-expected spring and Easter season, as well as a fine beginning to the summer season. 

Exceltur commented on their reassessment of Spanish tourism figures, saying that the change came as a result of strong increases in foreign demand. 

Spain has been a perennial favourite destination for summer package holidays, but the growing reputation the country has as a hub for weekend breaks in the city is having a strong impact on the numbers. Cities across the country recorded record numbers of overnight stays during the first half of the year, with some 2.7 million visitors staying overnight in Madrid alone between January and May; an increase of 19% over 2016. 

Barcelona has always been popular of course, but now other cities such as Valencia, Bilbao, Malaga, Cordoba, and Seville are seeing increases in popularity. The Vice President of Eceltur José Luiz Zoreda believes it is the combination of climate, accessibility, and perception of safety – following the recent terror attacks of London, Paris, and Berlin – that makes Spain so popular and attractive to tourists.

A drop in tourism across other countries has seen an increase in Spanish tourism. Exceltur estimates Spain is “borrowing” around 15 million tourists that would otherwise have visited countries such as Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia, and France. 

In terms of nationality, Brits are still the most dominant tourist group, prompting Zoreda to suggest that the “Brexit effect” is something that just isn’t being felt in Spain. The number of American visitors has increased 19%, while there has been a massive increase of 35% in Asian tourists; most of whom come from China.

Spain Ranked Third-Most Popular Destination by World Tourism Organisation

Spain Ranked Third-Most Popular Destination by World Tourism Organisation

Southern Spain continues to be very attractive to all visitors

coming to Spain

The latest data from the UNWTO – Word Tourism Organisation – ranks Spain as the third in global tourism rankings for 2016.

The data showed that 68.2 million visitors flocked to Spain last year, putting it behind the USA (with 77.5 million visitors), and the first-place France, which saw a total of 84.5 million visitors from overseas.

The statistics from the UNWTO are a little different from other metrics as they record every visitor from a foreign country, rather than just legitimate tourists booking an overnight stay at the very least. This is the likely reason that France came in first, as many people pass through the country on their journeys to surrounding countries.

This doesn’t mean that France doesn’t have a strong tourism market though, it just means that France – which finds itself in the middle of the UK, Italy, Belgium, and Germany – is always going to deal with a lot of ‘visitors’.

Spain – on the other hand – has land borders with just Portugal, France, and Andorra – and it isn’t as large or as populated as France is. The UNWTO also published a separate set of data about the number of tourists per resident. This metric saw Spain beat France; drawing 1.4 tourists for every resident, beating the 1.25 France scored.

An interesting note is that Andorra – that small principality between Spain and France – that topped the charts for tourists-per-resident; drawing in a massive 33.5 tourists per resident.

As far as overall numbers go, Spain is just in front of China (56.9 million overseas visitors during 2016), Italy (50.7 million) and Turkey (39.4 million). The UK came in eighth for the total number of visitors, pulling in 33.4 million tourists during the year; just behind the 35 million of seventh-place Germany.

The top ten was completed with Mexico in ninth with 32.1 million tourists and Russia in tenth with 31.3 million.

The Spanish tourism sector is expected to continue to grow this year; growing 3.2% over 2016 figures.  Southern Spain and the costa del sol breaking all records.

See How The Spanish Economy Boosted By Tourism and Exports in the First Quarter

See How Spanish Economy Boosted By Tourism and Exports in the First Quarter

2016 broke all record for tourism and 2017 is looking great too

Following a strong first quarter of Spain, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy increased the economic outlook for the country. The economy was boosted by strong performances in the tourism and export industries.

The government now believes that national GDP will increase by 2.7% in 2017, up from the 2.5% expected at the start of the year. The stronger start to 2017 has been seen primarily in data about flights, hotels, and resorts showing record-breaking levels of tourism.

The Spanish real estate market is also offering encouraging interest and activity.

Rajoy said that the recent data for the first quarter of 2017, as well as forecasts both national and international, were behind the decision to revise the growth forecast.

The optimism matches the optimism shown by the Bank of Spain, which increased its own growth forecast to 2.8% GDP, putting Spain on the course to be one of the major economic performers of Europe in 2017.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) published their own sober – if still encouraging – GDP increase. The IMF expects that Spanish GDP will increase by 2.6% this year, which would still leave the country ahead of the UK and USA for the second year in a row.

The Prime Minister expects GDP growth to continue across 2018 and 2019, leading to around half a million new jobs added each year. The result is that another million Spaniards will be in employment by 2020.

There is still some concern over the jobless rate, with Spanish unemployment sitting at 18.6%; one of the highest in Europe. Rajoy told reporters his government is planning a budget that prioritises this figure with plans to reduce unemployment below 16% by 2018.

Andalucía Tourism Figures Grow 15% in January

Andalucía Tourism Figures Grow 15% in January

According to the latest data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE), the number of overseas visitors heading to Andalucía – which, along with Malaga, comprises the provinces of Huelva, Cádiz, Sevilla, Jaén, Granada, Córoba, and Almeria – was up by a massive 15% in January of this year compared to the same period in 2016, while there was also an 11% increase in visits from Spanish nationals.

More records are broken again in Spain

Of all the 17 autonomous communities of Spain, Andalucía saw the largest increase by far, with a 7.7% increase in the Canary Islands, and a slight decrease of 1.8% for Catalonia. Andalucía welcomed over 13% of the 3.9million holidaymakers entering Spain from overseas in January. The Brits were the bulk of these tourists, with 25.2% of all tourists (521,116 visitors) coming from Britain, while 9.7% of the tourists were from Scandinavia.

As record-breaking as 2016 was, tourism professionals are confident that these numbers prove 2017 will be another landmark year for the country.

Could Spanish Tourism be Improved by Trump Presidency?

Could Spanish Tourism be Improved by Trump Presidency?

Donald Trump hasn’t been president for long, but he’s already had a drastic impact on how the United States is perceived around the world. The top three tourist destinations in the world are Spain, France, and the USA. It sometimes feels like they take turns being the most popular destination each year. Even though there will always be some argument about tourism and visits, there’s a lot of data already suggesting Spain could become the most visited country of 2017.

Looking like another record breaking year for Spain

There is a tight margin however. There’s a lot of undocumented overland travel in France as drivers constantly skim the northern corner of the country and pass through France on their way to the UK, Germany and Belgium. It’s a little easier to keep track of who comes in and out of Spain thanks to the its place in the southwest of Europe.

Then there is the issue of the United States. The US is no doubt the largest country out of all three, with carefully controlled tourism. The country has very strict border patrol forces that are not about let a few thousand people pass through here and there.

There are some years where the USA is the most visited country in the world. Even if it doesn’t take the top spot, there is only a minor amount of fluctuation. This could all be about to change.

President Donald Trump has spent much of his presidency, fresh as it is, being vocal. His harsh rhetoric and his travel bans have scared some tourists away from the country. Airline analyst Hopper has revealed data that shows there has been a 6.5% drop in airline bookings to the USA since Trump assumed office, while there are 17% less searches for flights to the country.

The drops were seen in most major countries in the world with one peculiar exception; there was actually an 88% increase in enquiries from Russia.

The figures that Hopper have would seem to match those of Spanish travel research company ForwardKeys and British tour operator Responsible Travel, which have recorded 22% decreases in inquiries about US holidays following the appointment of President Trump.

ForwardKeys CEO Olivier Jager says that the data suggests the Trump travel Ban has caused a significant drop in the amount of people looking to travel to the USA and it’s had an immediate effect on travel in the future, which is bad news for the American economy.

Even though it’s bad news for the US, it could be good news for Spain. While the US welcomes a wide range of tourists, many of the people travelling to the country are looking to hit Florida for plenty of sun, sea, and sand. If they don’t find the USA as appealing as they did before, thenSpain could easily become a great replacement as it offers families the same great weather and beaches they would get from the States, along with much more.

Spanish Tourism Set to Grow 3.2% in 2017

Spanish Tourism Set to Grow 3.2% in 2017

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.

Spain Officially Smashes Tourism Records in 2016

Spain Officially Smashes Tourism Records in 2016

All Tourist record were broken month by

month in Spain in 2016

The heads of some 75 million people were turned towards Spain in 2016. This is a record figure and is up 10% over 2015, when Spain become the third-most visited country in the world. The official tourism figures haven’t been published by the UN body just yet, so we can’t say for sure if Spain was actually the most popular country in the world. That fight usually comes down to a Spain, France, and the USA.

Even so everyone welcomed the Spanish surge of 2016. It boosted the economy and improved international standing during a year when many other popular destinations lost tourists due to the threat of terrorism.

Spain saw a record-breaking 68 million tourists during 2015, with many people attributing that to the safety of Spain. However some dispute the claim that the only reason Spain did so well is because other countries were facing terrorism; arguing that Spain succeeded because of how well it promotes itself as being an ideal destination.

Spain is also helped out by the great climate, culture, andcuisine. There is also a broader range of holidaymakers heading to Spain. Some of them are just after a cheap holiday and others are looking to explore everything Spain has to offer.

Every Tourism Record Ever Broken in Costa del Sol

Costa del Sol is booming and continues to break all records

Every Tourism Record Ever Broken in Costa del Sol

2016 was certainly a bumper year for tourism in Spain and nowhere was this more evident than in the Costa del Sol. There was so much tourism, in fact, that the president of the Turismo Costa del Sol tourism authority Elías Bendodo announced in a press confidence

that the province saw their highest visitor numbers ever. To put it into actual figures there were 10.2% more visitors to the region in 2016 compared to 2015, which was itself a year record. It boils down to 12,000,000 visitors, 26,000,000 overnight stays, and a grand total of €11.1 billion spent.

The amount of domestic tourists to the Costa del Sol was up3% year-on-year, while foreign tourism increased by the much more impressive figure of 15.7%. As has become tradition, British tourists made up the bulk of Spanish tourism; accounting for 2.6 million arrivals; which is up 16.6% over 2015. Overall visitors came from 19 different countries including Poland, Russia, Sweden, Romania and Hungary.

Bendodo believes that, just as 2016 broke all the records of 2015, 2017 could break all the records of 2016. In order or this to happen things have to be handled just right. The true challenge will be to retain these record breaking numbers for the years to come.

Spanish August Tourism Figures Smashed

Spanish August Tourism Figures Smashed

The Costa del Sol and Spain as a whole is continuing to

break all tourism records.  

Given how many people predicted it it’s hardly going to be considered a surprise that over 10 million tourists flocked to Spain during August.

The data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) is in and it shows that this number of 10.1 million visitors was an increase of 5.8% over last year and it continues the trend of smashed tourism records being smashed month after month.

Across the first eight months of the year the total amount of tourists who visited Spain reached a total of 52.5 million people – up 10% over the same time period of time last year. This boils down to a total of 5.2 million extra tourists this year for Spain. Much of the increase was caused by tourists choosing Spain over other popular destinations such as Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia over terrorism fears.

This increase means that Spain is set to smash their total figure of last year which was a record of 68.1 million tourists. In terms of nationality most of the tourists came from Britain and there was an increase of 13% in British visitors for a total of 12.4 million.

The amount of tourists from France and Germany is also on the up with 8.3 million and 7.6 million tourists from France and Germany respectively.

In terms of region Barcelona remained one of the most popular destinations to keep Catalonia as the most visited region in August with almost one quarter of all the tourists in Spain heading there. Next came the Balearics and the Canary Islands, with the Costa Del Sol coming in fourth in terms of visitor numbers.

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!

Property, Economy and Tourism All Up For Spain

 Property, Economy and Tourism All Up For Spain

Many industries tend to only focus on the positives and ignore the negatives when the time comes for them to report their news. When it comes to Spain, and especially the property industry in the country, this optimism is only fair.

Spain is the best place to live in Europe

The Spanish property market has been in a pretty bad place for the past several years but the past 24 months have been great for the industry. Spanish property prices reached their lowest point before slowly climbing back up. Mortgages were being approved more and the rates were fairer and foreign investors entered the market once more, along with a rise in domestic demand that was fuelled by the recovering job market and economy.

The past few months in particular have been great for the country as it looks like there’s nothing but good news for the real estate industry in Spain. It’s expected that property prices will continue to rise for at least the next five years. The only potential pitfall was the Brexit vote and, even though Britain voted leave, the Spanish economy, real estate industry, and especially tourism industry was barely affected.

Last week figures from the EU statistics agency Eurostat showed that Spanish property prices were on the up at a faster rate than the Eurozone average. The Economy Minister would also confirm that of the €22 billion in foreign money that was spent in Spain in 2015, a whopping one-third of it was spent on construction.

If this wasn’t good enough the Economy Minster Luis de Guindos would revise his 2016 forecast for the Spanish economy on Sunday. He is now suggesting that the Spanish GDP could rise by 2.9% this year, just above the 2.7% he originally forecast.

De Guindos put this elevated estimate down to macroeconomic projections which should be implemented before the next government institutes a full budget. He is also confident about 2017 and suggests that even if the Eurozone slows down it will not affect Spain much and that the country should still see a GDP growth of around 2.4%.

Another piece of great news for Spain came from the Institute of National Stastistics (INE). They reported over the weekend that the number of tourists visiting Andalucía over the past 12 months had increased by 18.1% year-over-year.

This increase is the highest out of all the autonomous communities in Spain and gave further proof, if any were needed, that the Costa del Sol area is in for a bumper summer this year. In May alone around one million people visited the region. This summer is expected to break the record set last year with an estimated 7 million people arriving.

While most of Europe seems to be facing the gloom of a post-Brexit EU or the doom of terrorism Spain is looking bright and cheery this summer and it’s not hard to see why with the wonderful climate and Mediterranean lifestyle and the cost of living in spain being so good. Its no wonder why so many Northern Europeans want to move to spain permanently.

Spain’s Booming Tourism Sector Could Grow 3.8% This Year

Spain’s Booming Tourism Sector Could Grow 3.8% This Year

Spanish resorts like Puerto Banus has always had success when it comes to attracting tourists even in winter.

The Spanish tourism industry has caused the Spanish economy to recover as well as brought smiles to the millions of Brits every year. It’s also behind at least one in five jobs that have been created in Spain this year. The Spanish tourism industry is set to continue to grow in 2016.

2016 all set to break records

Exceltur, the driving force behind the Spanish tourism sector, has altered their growth forecast for 2016. They originally estimated a growth of 3.4% and have since revised it to 3.8%. So the already strong start to the tourism industry seen in 2016 is going to be strengthened even further once the holiday season officially begins.

The Spanish tourism sector has grown for the past ten quarters, or two and a half years. This means that each quarter has seen more money come in the last and the growth has been at least 3%. This means that the tourism sector is the best-performing sector of the Spanish economy.

In the first quarter of 2016 the tourism sector brought in a GDP of 4.3% in the first quarter of 2015. It also created 89,000 new jobs along the way. All of this happened during a time where things are typically quiet for the tourism industry in Spain.

Tourism has always been something Spain is good at, along with the real estate market which is itself seeing a recovery.

Spain is expecting record numbers of visitors this summer thanks to the recent safety concerns arising in other popular tourist destinations such as Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia. It’s expected that holidaymakers will find their way to the more popular destinations in Spain, most of which can be found on the Costa del Sol.

It’s been calculated by Exceltur that Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia have seen 870,000 less tourists than usual so far this year, with Spain seeing an extra 799,000, so it’s not hard to guess where they’re going instead.

The data also shows that Spain has seen 12.5% more visitors so far this year, while Egypt has seen 46% less foreign tourists in 2016.

Exceltur did have some words of warning among all the good news though. Even though Spain is seeing a lot more tourists each tourist is spending an average of 7.8% less than they usually do. Exceltur are recommending that Spain try and bring in some more big spenders rather than relying on this low-cost tourism.

It’s expected that the big spending crowds will flock to the country during the summer months, as they always do to enjoy the beaches, food and Spanish lifestyle.