Tourists rush to Spanish beaches in record numbers

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Spain sees a huge rush to the sun-drenched beaches in near record numbers in spite of experiencing heat wave, which is dominant in European weather. Spanish Tourism represents about 13% of the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy, is on track to fully recover a year earlier than expected. That would lift prospects for the nation which faced the region’s deepest contraction when the pandemic struck in 2020.

The influx of tourist arrivals enjoyed by Spain is likely to play out across southern Europe, where tourism is a significant driver of growth and employment, particularly in destinations such as Greece and Portugal.

That would be a source of good news at a grim moment for the continent’s economy, as the danger of a recession looms if Russia cuts off gas supplies. Right now the visitors are shrugging off inflation that is near a four-decade high in the country.

The restaurants and hotels there are hiring and engage in more tourism and hospitality job escalation. The employment was already at pre-pandemic levels in June, according to tourism industry group Exceltur, which predicts the sector will generate 152 billion euros ($154 billion) in income this year. That would nearly match the record set in 2019. So far, flight cancellations and cabin crew strikes across Europe haven’t dented demand either.

Alberto Urtasun, head of the Bank of Spain’s economic forecasting division said that these problems at airports and airline strikes have inflicted some harm temporarily, but in general all the prospects are that the summer is going to be a good one,” said Alberto Urtasun, head of the Bank of Spain’s economic forecasting division. The high-frequency data such as flight and hotel reservations signal the tourism sector could be close to recover pre-pandemic levels this year, Urtasun said. That would be earlier than the bank’s original forecast for 2023.

Inputs: Bloomberg

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