2023-04-30 07:05:00
Tourism is headed for a year of records. Activity in the sector is growing strongly, driven by the renewed boom in demand and the rise of the prices, and it has been taken for granted that historical records will be reached after the debacle caused by the pandemic.
The revival of the tourism industry Until now, it had been relying primarily on the business generated by Spanish clients (who have intensified domestic travel due to the ravages of the covid), but the demand from international travelers is once again becoming the mainstay of the acceleration.
The sector and also the Government anticipate that the foreign tourist arrivals will mark a new all-time high this year, surpassing the previous record of 83.7 million international arrivals reached in 2019 before the collapse caused by the covid. And the boom in international tourist arrivals will also generate a new record for the millionaire injection they generate for the Spanish economy.
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Historic revenue this year
Los tourism income of the country -what international travelers spend during their stay and that effectively affects the Spanish economy- will far exceed the pre-pandemic records and will reach a record of 79,000 million euros in the whole of 2023, according to internal estimates managed by exalted the lobby that brings together some thirty of the largest companies in the sector (among them, Meliá, NH, Iberia, Globalia, Riu or Amadeus), to which EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA has had access.
An injection of 79,000 million that will mean a 14.3% increase in relation to the 69,100 million euros reached last yearToday is an increase of 11% compared to the previous record of 71.2 billion recorded in 2019 pre-covid. The forecast for this financial year, however, “is very dependent on the scenario of less economic slowdown that the analysis houses are contemplating today being fulfilled, on the fact that the situation of the war in Ukraine does not worsen and that there are no new episodes that affect global financial stability”, warns Exceltur.
Tourist arrivals are growing strongly and are already above pre-pandemic levels, and also those who come will be more profitable for the Spanish economy. A greater injection of each one of the visitors that is produced by the combination of the increase in prices applied by the companies of the sector in the middle of an inflationary wave, by the longer average duration of the trips and by the greater weight that the tourist products of higher category, as emphasized by the association of large companies in the sector.
Almost a decade of records
Spain accumulated nine consecutive years of tourism revenue records until the pandemic cut short the progression. According to the balance of payments records of the Bank of Spain, In 2019, a record high of 71,202 million euros in income from tourism was reached, which is recorded for practical purposes as if they were income from exports of the Spanish economy.
In 2020, with much of the year of total tourist stoppage due to restrictions on international travel, these incomes plummeted to only 16,177 million, with a collapse of more than 77% and with the lowest data in almost three decades (in specifically, since 1993). In 2021, international travelers visiting the country injected 28.9 billion euros into the national economy, still 60% below pre-covid levels and remained at levels of the late 1990s. Last year revenues, according to the Bank of Spain, reached 69,100 million, tying with the records of 2018, which has been the second best year in history so far.
The Bank of Spain calculates through the balance of payments the volume of income from tourism in the country, while the National Institute of Statistics (INE) prepares the Egatur tourist expenditure survey. Between both data, the income of one and the expenses of the other, there is always a million-dollar gap. And it is that In the INE survey, all the expenditure made by travelers is computed, not only what they actually make in Spain and that has a direct impact on our economy, but also includes the costs of transport that can be carried out with a foreign airline. In the case of the balance of payments, transportation costs are not included.
Tourism GDP, at maximums
The macroeconomic scenario drawn by Exceltur predicts that he tourism GDP will rise in the year as a whole to a record of 172,200 million euros, with a growth of 8% in relation to last year and 9.4% compared to 2019 precovid. A record that will consolidate tourism as the national economic engine, contributing 12.3% of the Spanish GDP as a whole.
The boost in tourist activity is driven in part by the rise in rates that companies are applying. In fact, discounting the effect of the price increase, the sector’s GDP is still slightly below pre-pandemic levels in real terms (1.9% less), given that prices for this year as a whole will be more than 11% above 2019 levelsaccording to the Exceltur study service.
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