Spain Tourism Sets Record in First Half of 2014

Foreigners may still be wary of Spain property, but they still love vacationing in Spain. In the first half of 2014, a record-breaking 28 million tourists visited Spain, a 7.3 per cent increase from a year ago.

Leading the charge were visitors from the UK, with 6.5 million tourists in the six months, up 5.8 per cent from the same period a year earlier, suggesting that the British infatuation with Spain is far from over. But the British were not the only ones flocking to Spain. Visitors from Germany were up 8.8 per cent in the first half, while arrivals from France were up 10.3 per cent. (See chart below).

“We never fell out of love with Spain – but other countries, in particular Turkey and Egypt, have been aggressively luring us with lower prices,” travel journalist Simon Calder told the BBC. “With capacity to Egypt sharply reduced because of the political problems, it is natural that some holidaymakers are going to revert to the safe haven of Spain.”

This is undoubtedly good news for Spain’s second home market, as tourism remains the best promotion for Spain property. In June, Spain attracted 6,582,941 international tourists, a 4.5 per cent increase from the same month a year earlier, which also set a record.

The most popular destinations were the Canary Islands, Catalonia and Andalusia.