Balearics were the top destination in September

THE Balearics were the main Spanish destination for foreign tourists last month, with 1.5 million visitors.
This was 24.3 percent of the total amount of visitors to Spain during September, and an increase of 6.3 percent in comparison with the same month in 2005. According to a poll by Tourist Movements across Frontiers (FRONTUR), released yesterday by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, this “good performance” is the result of the increase in demand from Spain's two main markets, British and German, with increases of 1 percent and 8.8 percent respectively. FRONTUR also said that between January and September 2006 a total of 8.9 million international visitors came to the islands.
Because of this, the Balearic region was the second most popular Spanish destination after Catalonia, with an increase of 6.3 percent in German tourists, and 1.7 percent increase in British tourists. In total, during the first nine months of 2006, Spain received 46.8 million foreign tourists, which is an increase of 4.9 percent when compared with the same period in 2005. With regard to the month of September, the country received 6 million international tourists, some 4.9 percent more than in September 2005.
The main market from which the tourists came to Spain during the first nine months of 2006 was the United Kingdom, which recorded a rise of 1.1 percent to 12.9 million tourists. The British visitors favoured the islands, increasing by 1.7 percent in the Balearics and by 0.6 percent in the Canaries.
Spain overall received 1.7 million British tourists, some 4.6 percent more than during the same month in 2005.
The number of German tourists coming to Spain during the first nine months of the year was 8.1 million, some 3.2 percent more than in the same period in 2005. Their main destinations were also the Balearics and the Canaries, and their numbers increased by 6.3 and 4.3 percent respectively.
During the month of September a total of 1.2 million German tourists visited Spain, which was an increase of 4.1 percent.
As for the French market, the third largest market for Spain, during the first nine months of the year an interannual increase of 3.4 percent was recorded, with 7.7 million visitors. Their preferred destination was Cataluña which experienced an increase of 8 percent in comparison with the same period in 2005. Of the rest of the markets, with lesser percentages of the total, the Italian and Nordic countries stand out, with 5.9 and 4.8 percent of September's total respectively. Cataluña was the main Spanish destination during the first nine months with a total of 12.2 million tourists, which was a growth of 7.5 percent. Its principal market was France, with an increase of 8 percent in French visitors. The Canaries were the third favourite destination in Spain during the first nine months and received 7 million tourists, which was an increase of 3.2 percent in comparison with the same period in 2005. As for September, the Balearics was the main destination chosen by international tourists, followed by Cataluña and Andalucia, with increases of 6.3, 10.3 and 3.5 percent respectively.