Madrid (AFP) – Spain welcomed a record 17 million foreign tourists in the first three months of 2025 as the buoyant sector drives an economy outshining European peers, official data showed on Monday. The 17.1 million foreign tourists arriving in Spain from January to March was a 5.7-percent increase on the same period in 2024, the National Statistics Institute said.
Britain, France, and Germany supplied the most holidaymakers to the world’s second most-visited country, which last year hosted a record 94 million foreign tourists seeking its sun, beaches, and culture. Spending by foreign tourists also climbed 7.2 percent to 23.5 billion euros ($26.7 billion), the tourism ministry said in a statement, a welcome development for the government which wants visitors to splash more cash during their stay.
The tourist sector was one of the drivers of Spain’s standout growth of 3.2 percent in 2024, well above the EU figure of one percent. But the bonanza has sparked a growing backlash among locals who complain that an unsustainable influx of foreign visitors is driving up rents, saturating infrastructure, and changing the fabric of neighbourhoods.
Spain aims to “diversify” destinations, make the sector less dependent on key seasons, and “share out the benefits” across the country, Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu said in a statement.
© 2024 AFP
