SPAIN SETS A NEW RECORD OF TOURISTS TO OCTOBER THIS YEAR

Spain has set another all-time record in October, after receiving 5,475,000 inbound tourists, representing a 6.9% year-on-year increase, according to the FRONTUR survey, drafted by the General Sub-directorate of Tourism Information and Studies of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism.

 In the first 10 months of the year, the figure for inbound tourists set a new all-time record, since the FRONTUR survey began in 1995, of 54.3 million, a year-on-year rise of 4.8%. The Nordic countries and the United Kingdom were the main contributors to this growth.

The United Kingdom tops the list of emitting markets in October, with a total of 1.3 million tourists and growth of 5.8%. Despite Catalonia being the main destination with 132,000 additional tourists, the Region of Valencia enjoyed the largest growth, of 15.5%, or 30,000 additional tourists. In the first 10 months of the year, more than 13 million British tourists have visited Spain, which represents a 4.6% increase and a market share of 24% of all inbound tourists.

More than 1 million German tourists visited Spain in October - 18.9% of the total - a 10.9% increase. The Balearic Islands was the main destination which, together with Catalonia and Andalusia, was the region posting the highest growth in absolute terms. In the year to date, more than 8.8 million Germans have visited Spain, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%, and a market share of 16.3%.

With a marked increase of 15%, the French market saw 756,602 inbound tourists in October, with Catalonia being the main destination, with almost 40% of the total. Between January and October, 8.5 million French tourists have travelled to Spain, posting a 6.4% increase and a market share of all inbound tourists of 15.6%.

474,000 tourists visited Spain from the Nordic countries, an increase of 17.9%. Their favourite destination was the Canary Islands which, together with the Balearic Islands and the Region of Valencia, were the destinations posting the largest increases. In the year to date, more than 4 million tourists from the Nordic countries have visited Spain, a year-on-year increase of 17.7%.

Italy has returned to a path of decline that started in October 2011 with a 6.8% decrease this month. The positive performance of Catalonia, which was the main destination, was insufficient to offset the strong decline in the Region of Madrid. A little under 2.9 million Italian tourists have visited Spain in the first 10 months of the year, 9.6% down on the same period last year.

Russia and the Netherlands stand out in the rest of the emitting markets, with 34.8% and 8.8% increases, respectively.