Spain welcomed four million tourists in March, more than eight times more than in the same month in 2021, following most restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted, the department reported on Thursday. Spanish of INE statistics.
Foreign tourists spent 5.07 billion euros ($5.37 billion) while vacationing in the country in March, up from 544 million euros a year earlier, according to INE.
“Spain closes this first quarter with good data on tourist arrivals and spending, a trend that we hope will intensify during the summer period”Spanish Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said on her Twitter account.
Spain closes this first quarter with good data on arrivals and tourist spending, a trend that we hope will intensify in the summer period.
The excellent enrollment figures, together with the recovery in air capacity levels, make us optimistic. https://t.co/wCYH5HsVNR
– Reyes Maroto (@MarotoReyes) May 5, 2022
“The excellent employment figures as well as the recovery of air capacity make us optimistic”she added.
The number of tourists coming to Spain in March, however, remains below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. The amount of expenditure at the time was 6.03 billion euros.
The travel restrictions imposed to stem the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 impacted the Spanish tourism sector, which represented 12% of the country’s economy before the pandemic, before a gradual recovery in 2021 weakened by the spread of the variant Omicron.
