The tourism industry in Spain has been revealed to have experienced unprecedented growth in the previous year.
A large chunk of this rise in the number of visitors came from the Gulf Cooperation Council, also known as the GCC, region.
Moreover, the country recorded high expenditures from the travelers of these countries, as reported by the data published by the National Institute Of Statistics (INE) and Turespana.
GCC
Data from these two organizations further revealed that tourists from GCC spent around €1,138 million on their visits throughout the last 12 months.
Consequently, Spain marked a notable rise of no less than 64.7% as compared to 2022. The overall increase as compared to the pre-pandemic levels was of 123.7%.
Meanwhile, the flow of travelers coming in from the GCC region to Spain also achieved a new record high.
It was reported that more than 434,000 residents made the trip in the previous year for various reasons.
This figure showcased an increase of around 33%, in comparison to the corresponding period. In addition, it was noted that this number was 56% higher than the one recorded back in 2019.
On average, travelers from Gulf countries took to enjoying an extended stay in Spain, which spanned to around 8.6 days.
As a result, the travel and tourism industry in the country experienced an even greater economic boost as compared to the previous year.
Turespana
According to the report published by Turespana, Saudi Arabia was one of the countries that sent in the most travelers to the country.
It disclosed that the number of travelers from the Kingdom showed an increase of over 100% in comparison to the figures recorded in 2019.
In addition, the number surged by 92% when compared to the number of travelers who made their way to Spain in 2022.
Consequently, the total number of tourists from Saudi currently stands at 182,298, which surpasses the United Arab Emirates as one of the primary markets from the GCC for Spain.
Spain
The allure of Spain, given the rising number of tourists from GCC and several other regions, has been attributed to a wide range of factors.
These include its familiarity, favorable weather, rich Arab heritage, and deep cultural resonance for the people from GCC regions.
As time progresses and the calendar changes years, the country has shown to be unwavering in its ambition to solidify its status as the top destination for all travelers coming in from the Middle East.
In order to achieve its goal, Spain has come up with a multifaceted approach and has taken to use several market campaigns.
It has also formed a number of strategic alliances and taken to orchestrate a wide range of events under the auspices of the Tourism Department of Turespana, which is located in Abu Dhabi.
The Spanish Tourism Office further completed a series of engagements in the recent months in several GCC countries.
These included Kuwait, UAE, as well as Saudi Arabia. The initiative revolved around the display of several regions and attractive offers of travel from Spain to their travel partners in these countries.
