Panic in Spain as Tourist Numbers Fall Short of Expectations
Spain’s tourism sector is experiencing a slowdown, โคraising concerns about its contribution to theโข nation’s economic growth.Industry group Exceltur reported a 2.8% increase in salesโฃ across hotels, airlines, โrestaurants, andโ related businesses during the peak summer season -โข a significant drop from theโ 6.3% growth seen during โฃthe same period last year. Thisโ deceleration is promptingโค revised forecasts for the remainder of โthe year.
The downturn is linked to decreased spending from key tourist demographics, including โvisitors from Germany, France, Turkey, and the United States.โฃ While โคarrivals from Britainโค (representing 26.5% of total visitors), China, and Poland offered some counterbalance,โ they weren’t โขenough to maintainโค previous growth levels.Domestic tourism remained stable.
Exceltur now projects a 2% rise in sales for the fourth โquarter and anticipates overall tourism-related activity will grow by 2.8% in 2024, down from a July projection of 3.3% and considerably โฃlower than last year’s 5.5% expansion. Theโฃ sector is expected to contribute 13.1%โค to Spain’s โgross domestic product this year, a reduction from the earlier estimate of 13.5%.
Despite a 3.9% increase in โtourist arrivals through August, reaching โ66.8 million, Spainโ may fall short of the 100 million touristโ benchmark previously projected by the World Travel โคand Tourism Council. Spanish โTourism Minister โฃJordi Hereu acknowledged this possibility but โexpressed โฃit โฃwasn’t necessarily a cause for alarm, citing continued growth in tourist spending.
The situation has reportedly led to some businessesโข offering staff โtime off during the typically busy month of July,indicating a tangible impact on operations. โฃ Exceltur Vice President Oscarโค Perelli stated that โtourism is “no longer the main dynamiser of the Spanish โฃeconomy” and will likely not significantly outpaceโฃ the โcountry’s overall economic growth forecast of 2.6%.