WORLD
24.8 million foreign tourists visit Spain in first 6 months of 2011
Baku, July 23 (AZERTAC). According to the figures published in the Frontier Tourist Movement Survey (FRONTUR) drafted by the Institute for Tourism Studies of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, 24.8 million foreign tourists came to Spain in the first half of 2011, up 7.5% on the same period of last year.
The flow of inbound tourists grew by 8.5% in June to a total of more than 5.7 million. These figures confirm the positive trend being reflected in Spanish tourism.
Inbound tourists from the United Kingdom (the top emitting market of tourists to Spain) were responsible for the most noticeable increase in absolute terms in June. 80,000 more British tourists came to Spain in June 2011 than did in June 2010. This is an increase of 5.7% to a total of 1.5 million tourists who chose the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Andalusia as their top destinations. Inbound British tourists over the last six months have risen by 9.6%.
The second-largest market in terms of volume this month, Germany, accounted for 17.1% of all inbound tourists. This is an increase of 0.9% and was particularly felt in the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. However, a decline of 1.8% was recorded over the first five months of the year in terms of inbound German tourists.
The arrival of 760,000 French tourists in June represents an increase of 8.9%. This result was felt across all destination autonomous regions except Catalonia, usually their top destination. Inbound French tourists increased by 4.9% between January and June.
Performance by the Dutch market was also particularly good in June, recording growth of 20%. Inbound tourists from the Netherlands over the first six months of year increased by 23.6%.
The number of inbound tourists from Ireland also grew significantly in June, up by 15.1% on the same month of 2010. In absolute terms, 171,734 Irish tourists came to Spain in June and, over the first six months of the year, this number grew by 13.7%.
Switzerland recorded growth of 29.8% in June and 13.1% for the first six months of the year. The Nordic Countries recorded growth of 5.2% in June and 18.1% for the first six months of the year.
Finally, the number of inbound tourists from the United States also increased in June. The number of tourists visiting Spain from the rest of America increased by 29.4% and from the rest of the world by 29.8%.
The Balearic Islands were the top tourist destination in Spain in June. 1.5 million foreign tourists visited the autonomous region, up 12.3% on the same period of last year.
Catalonia was the second most popular tourist destination in June with 1.4 million people, up 24.6%. So far this year, the autonomous region has received six million foreign tourists.