More tourists than ever decided to go to Spain this year.
A new record was set in the first eight months of 2015, according to Frontur, an industry ministry agency.
Arrivals hit 47.2 million in the period, an increase of 4%. The greatest jumps in numbers were in coastal regions such as Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, the two most popular Spanish destinations.
At the same time, a million tourists, particularly British and French, shunned Tunisia this year because of security fears following two attacks by Islamist militants which killed dozens of holidaymakers.
Last year’s total numbers made another record when nearly 65 million people visited, 14 million of them from the UK, 10.5 million each from France and Germany.
Tourism makes up about 11% of Spain’s economy and the increase in tourism will be welcome news, especially if it has managed to dent the stubbornly high unemployment rate of 22%.
The average spend for each tourist, however, remains a mystery. Some data indicates that it is going up while other measures show a drop. Nevertheless, with an increase in sheer numbers, there must have been some boost to the economy.
Not everyone welcomes the surge in numbers. Residents of Barcelona are becoming increasingly frustrated by the numbers piling into its old town and the new mayor is trying to control tourist numbers.
Spain is the third most popular destination in the world, after the US and France.
