In a global context marked by a succession of geopolitical shocks, the Spanish economy has achieved remarkable dynamism, outperforming the average annual GDP growth (2022-2024) of the euro area. This performance, unlike in previous periods, has occurred without the build-up of macroeconomic imbalances. A key factor behind this strength is undoubtedly the tourism sector.
The dynamism of tourism exports has made an exceptionally positive contribution to economic performance. The weight of tourism receipts in GDP has grown significantly, with an increase of 1.5 percentage points between 2004 and 2024reaching the 6,2% of GDP.
The figures for tourist arrivals are equally impressive. At In 2024, Spain received nearly 94 million foreign tourists.which represents 10 million more than in 2019before the pandemic. This increase has been widespread in the Mediterranean economies, but with a notably higher intensity in Spain. While the world total barely varied by -0.1% and Europe grew by 1.6% in foreign tourist arrivals (compared to 2019), Mediterranean Europe grew by 8.6% and Spain an outstanding 12.3%.
This tourism dynamism is reflected not only in the volume, but also in a temporal and geographical diversification of flows. Overnight hotel stays by foreign travellers have shown an increase of 18.7% in March 2024 compared to the same month in the years prior to the pandemic, indicating a deseasonalisation of tourism. In terms of geographical diversification, while island destinations such as the Balearic and Canary Islands remain popular, other inland regions and cities and the Mediterranean have also experienced significant growth in overnight stays.
In addition, there has been a change in the origin of tourists. The weight of traditional sources, such as the United Kingdom (down 9 points) y Germany (down 5 points)while tourist arrivals have increased from USA. USA. and the Rest of the World.
In parallel, there has been a increase in the quality of accommodation supply. Over the past 20 years, the proportion of hotel beds in the 4 and 5 stars has increased from one third (36% in 2004) to more than half (56% in 2024).. This demonstrates a clear commitment to excellence in accommodation.
The Bank of Spain report identifies several key factors influencing this recent dynamism. There has been a shift of expenditure towards leisure by European households. Also, greater ease of cross-border service provision in the aftermath of the pandemic has enabled the emergence of modes of tourism that combine work and leisure (reference to the Flexible Accommodation and the trend bleisure). Other factors include the overcoming of bottlenecks in the labour market, especially in the hotel and catering sector (thanks to migration flows), and a favourable geopolitical repositioning of Spain to the south and west of Europe, perceived as a region of greater security and stability in times of uncertainty. The competitiveness of the Spanish tourism sector on an international scale is high, standing out in terms of safety, health, human resources, and availability of ICT and infrastructure.
Despite this positive outlook, the Spanish tourism sector faces challenges shared with the economy as a whole. Among them, the labour shortagesthe Adaptation to Climate Changethe impact on the housing market and the challenges in infrastructure management. Addressing these points will be crucial to ensure that tourism remains an engine of sustainable growth for the Spanish economy.
