Spain Tourism Recovers Rapidly

Spain welcomed approximately nine million passengers from foreign airports in August, accounting for 87% of those who arrived in the same month of 2019.

According to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, these data are “very positive because they confirm the intense recovery of the tourism sector that is resisting well the uncertainty generated by the war and inflation.”

“Our forecasts for the autumn are good, although within the prudence that is necessary to have in such complex times,” she added.

According to reports, passenger departures from all major nations increased in August. One in every four passengers was from the United Kingdom, with the majority traveling to the Balearic Islands. Low-cost airlines carried 78.6% of UK passengers. Spanish airports attracted 2,240,299 passengers from the UK market, representing an 84.6% increase over 2019.

1,338,855 passengers arrived from Germany, accounting for 14.9% of the total, with the majority heading to the Balearic Islands. In this market, the proportion of passengers selecting traditional airlines vs ‘low cost’ is about 50/50 (51.8% choosing traditional airlines versus 48.2% choosing low cost). Pre-pandemic arrivals in Germany accounted for 87% of all immigrants.

Italy also issued 831,581 travelers, the majority of whom traveled to Catalonia. Low-cost airlines carried eight out of ten Italian passengers. 711,189 travelers from France flew to the same places.