Spain: Foreign tourist spending up 7.8 percent

MADRID, Spain – The amount of money spent by foreign tourists in Spain from January to June rose by 7.8 percent year-on-year to 26.3 billion euros (35.4 billion U.S. dollars) according to a report published on Monday by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism.

Tourists from Britain spent the largest quantity of money in the first six months of 2014 with a total of 5.212 billion euros and a rise of 10.2 percent year-on-year.

The British were followed by tourists arriving from Germany, who spent 4.393 billion euros meaning a 9.4 percent increase in comparison with the first six months of 2013.

Meanwhile, the amount of money spent by tourists from the Nordic countries reached 2.798 billion euros, meaning a 7.1 percent increase when compared with the same period in 2013.

The report also said that tourists from France and from the United States spent 2.391 billion euros and 1.265 billion euros respectively in the first six months of the year, experiencing an increase of 4.5 percent and 4 percent respectively year-on-year.

Foreign tourists spent the largest amount of money in the Canary Islands in the first six months of the year, a total of 6.069 billion euros, which meant a 13.9 percent increase in comparison with the first months in 2013.

The archipelago of the Canary Islands was followed by the northeastern region of Catalonia and the southern region of Andalusia which received 5.986 billion euros and 4.032 billion euros respectively. (1 euro = 1.34 U.S. dollars)