This figure is 13% higher than that of the summer of 2023 – when the previous record was set – the ministry said in a press release. Tourism revenues from foreign visitors are estimated to increase by 22%, to 59 billion euros, the same source explains.

This confirms “the success of the Spanish tourism model”, said Spanish Tourism Minister Jordi Herreu during a press conference underlining the sharp increase in tourism spending, “higher than that of the number of visitors”.

“The attractiveness of Spain is confirmed month following month,” he continued.

The world’s second biggest tourist destination following France, Spain welcomed 85.1 million foreign visitors last year, mostly British, French and German. A record figure which, based on government forecasts, is expected to be largely surpassed this year.

According to employer organization Exceltur, which released its own estimates today, Spain’s tourism sector revenue is expected to grow by 5.3% over a year this summer and by 4.6% for the whole of 2024 compared to in the year 2023.

If these forecasts are confirmed, Spain’s “gross domestic tourism product” would “surpass 200 billion euros for the first time” this year, which would “bring tourism’s contribution to the Spanish economy to 13.2%,” Exceltur reports. .

These predictions come as protests once morest overtourism have multiplied in recent weeks, from the Balearic Islands to the Canary Islands and Barcelona – where several thousand residents demonstrated once more on Saturday to demand “limits” to the phenomenon.

Protesters complain regarding noise pollution, pollution, congested transport infrastructure and rising housing prices, which have soared in recent years, largely due to the conversion of many apartments into tourist rentals.

This outrage has prompted many municipalities and regions to take steps to try to curb the problem, including Barcelona, ​​which announced on June 21 that it wanted to end the rental of tourist apartments by 2029 in order to make it easier for residents in housing.