Despite political instability in Catalonia, tourist numbers to Spain have risen yet again.
Record Tourist Numbers Travel To Spain in 2017
In just 11 months the Spanish international tourism sector to register its best figures yet with 77.8 million foreign visitors to the country – up from 75.6 million in the whole of 2016. According to a study by Frontur, the tourism branch of Spain’s National Institute of Statistics, the figures from January – November 2017 are 77.8 million foreign visitors and that number is likely to rise above 80 million by the time the year is over. That estimate represents a staggering growth of 5 million tourists since 2016. These figures are extremely encouraging as Catalonia’s tourism slumped by around 15% in October 2017 as a result of the region’s political instability and by 2.3% in November. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told Parliament at the peak of the Catalan crisis “The tourism sector is one of the most strongly affected by the instability.” But fortunately, that warning doesn’t seem to have become a reality anywhere in Spain. So far in 2017, 18 million Brits have chosen Spain as their holiday destination, an increase of 7% compared to the same 11-month period in 2016. In second place came Germans at 11.4 million, up 6.1% followed by visitors from France with 10.7 million.
So Spain is by far the most popular destination and, with Alicante just over 2 hours flying time from the UK, why not have a look at Alicante Holiday Villas beautiful selection of holiday villas and apartments for your 2018 summer holiday?
We hope you enjoyed the article! Remember you can search for your perfect property in Alicante by using our alicante villa search on our home page. Please don't hesitate to contact us directly for help and advice.