Buoyant tourist industry lends a hand to flagging economy

The Spanish tourism industry continued to provide support for the ailing domestic economy in 2012, a year in which GDP is estimated to have shrunk 1.3 percent, leaving over a quarter of the working population out of a job.

According to figures released Wednesday by the Industry, Energy and Tourism Ministry, 57.6 million overseas visitors flocked to Spain in 2012, an increase of 3.1 percent, or one million, over the previous year. That was the third biggest figure on record. “The year 2012 was a good one of tourism,” Industry Minister José Manuel Soria said.

Apart from coming in greater numbers, tourists also left more money behind. Average spending per individual visitor rose by 2.7 percent to 968 euros, while average spending per day was up 6.8 percent at 109 euros. Total spending amounted to 55.7 billion euros, an increase of 5.9 percent over 2011.

Traditional markets such as Spain, German and France held up well, while there was a notable increase in visitors from emerging markets such as Russia, Brazil, China and India.