Nine Million International Tourists Hit Spain in Q1
May 2nd, 2011
Spain received 9 million international tourists in the first three months of the year, according to figures drawn up by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade and published by the Frontur opinion poll. This represents an increase of 2.9% over the same period last year.
This increase is nearly ten times higher than the 0.3% registered in the first quarter of 2010. Particularly noticeable, were the increases in tourists from the Netherlands (22.3%), Belgium (20%), Switzerland (14.8%), Scandinavia (11.7%) and Italy (10.9%).
However, the UK remained Spain’s number one market, with 1.8 million tourists (albeit a decrease of 4.8% from 2010), followed by Germany with 1.47 million (3.7% less), and France with 1.2 million (2.7% more than last year).
In March, international tourist arrivals rose 0.6% to 3.5 million passengers, the Ministry said, recalling that last year’s Easter Week (Semana Santa) began in this month.
Canary Islands Most Popular
The Canary Islands was the main destination for 30.6%, or 2.7 million of all international tourists in the first quarter, representing an increase of 15.2% over the same period last year.
This was followed by Catalonia, with just over two million tourists, or 22.9% of all arrivals, but still a decrease of 1.1% over the first quarter of 2010.
Andalusia, in third place, accounted for 13.6% of arrivals, or 1.23 million passengers, and 0.9% less than last year.
The autonomous region of Madrid received 894,628 tourists, a 0.1% increase, while Valencia recorded an increase of 3%, to 825,403 tourists.
In contrast, the Balearic Islands, with 511,112 tourists, registered a decrease of 11.8%.
Getting to Spain
Most travellers (79.9%) chose to fly to Spain, which was 3.4% more than in the first quarter from the same period of 2010, while tourists travelling by road increased by 1.3% to 17.4%. Tourists choosing other modes of transport, e.g. train or boat, fell by 0.6%.
In choosing accommodation, 63% of tourists opted for staying in hotels, which represented an increase of 2.3%. The hotel trade registered an increase of 4.9% in reservations, and the use of privately owned or family homes fell by 0.5%.
Finally, when organising their trip, 69.9% of tourists chose to come to Spain without booking a package tour, a 3.8% increase on last year, and the remainder who did book a package tour, translates to an increase of 1.7% over the same period of 2010.
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