Foreign tourism to the Balearics increased by over 10% in the first eight months of the year. The 9.65 million foreign tourists placed the Balearics second among Spain’s regions; Catalonia had 12.5 million, which was a lower rise, one of 4.3%. The increase in the Canaries was by 13% to 8.6 million tourists.
The number of tourists in August increased by 4.4% to 2.3 million. The British market provided the Balearics with more tourists than other markets in August, but only fractionally; the percentage was 30.1% of the total against a German figure of 29.5%. Catalonia also had the most tourists in August - 24.7% of a national total of 10.1 million (5.8% up) - followed by the Balearics with 22.7%.
The August figure for the country was a monthly record for arrivals as the influx of visitors bolsters the economy. Spain’s thriving tourism industry has fuelled a jobs surge over the summer months, extending an economic recovery throughout a period of political uncertainty.
In the first eight months of 2016, the number of tourists rose more than 10 per cent over the same period in 2015 to 52.5 million, putting Spain on track to surpass last year’s record 68.1 million arrivals for the full 12 months.
Northeastern Catalonia, home to vast stretches of beaches, was the most visited region in Spain, followed by the Balearics. Britons remained the most numerous visitors to Spain and arrivals from the United Kingdom were up 3.9 per cent year-on-year in August.
But this marked a slowdown compared to previous months and followed the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, after which the British pound weakened against the euro.