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ECONOMY

Tourist spending hits 10-year high during months of January and February

Nearly 6.2 million visitors from abroad who came to vacation in Spain left behind 6.084 billion euros

Foreign tourism continues to hit new highs in Spain. The nearly 6.2 million visitors from abroad who came to vacation in the country during the first two months of the year spent 6.084 billion euros, which is a 9.1-percent increase on the same period in 2013. The figure represents the highest seen for January and February over the last 10 years, according to data released on Thursday by the Industry, Energy and Tourism Ministry.

The rise can be mostly attributed to the higher volume of foreign visitors seen in Spain in February (up 11.2 percent). In fact, the figures also reveal that average daily spending per person actually fell 2.2 percent in the first two months of the year, to €108, while the average spend per tourist on their entire visit went down 2.4 percent to €985.

Visitors from the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom contributed the most to the overall rise, while falls in spending among tourists from France, The Netherlands, Portugal and Latin America dragged down the average total spend.

The highest volume of spending came from the wallets of British tourists, with €1.004 billion, accounting for 16.5 percent of the total. In second place were German visitors, who left behind €983 million, 16.2 percent of the total.

In third place were visitors from the Nordic countries, who spent €938 million while in Spain.

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