Despite significant inflation, Spain’s tourist industry is anticipated to generate record numbers in 2023, according to the Exceltur tourism organisation. Following a “very good start to the year” and the “positive expectations” of the industry, it was expected that tourism revenues would total 172.2 billion euros ($189 billion). This would be a 9.4% increase over 2019—the year when the Covid-19 outbreak decimated the industry—and an 8.3 percent increase over the record-breaking 159 billion euros recorded in 2022.

“This central scenario is based on the continuation of strong domestic demand and the consolidation of the recovery” in the European countries from which most foreign tourists come, the group said in a statement.

As travel restrictions related to the epidemic have been eased, Spain’s tourism industry might also profit this year from an increase in tourists from farther away regions like Asia and North America.

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In 2022, Spain, the second most popular tourist destination in the world after France, will have welcomed over 71.6 million international visitors, primarily from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.

This was an increase over the 31.1 million tourists in 2021, but it was still less than the record-breaking 83.7 million foreign visitors who came to the country in 2019 before the pandemic struck the industry. Twelve percent of Spain’s GDP is derived from tourism, so a decline in arrivals has a significant impact on the fourth-largest economy in the eurozone. Spain’s hotels, resorts, transportation providers, vehicle rental agencies, and entertainment venues are all grouped under Exceltur.

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