ARCHIVED - Spanish tourism has lost 7.4 billion euros due to lack of UK visitors this year

Just 142,000 visitors from the UK in June as opposed to over 2 million in May 2019

Hopes for higher figures in July and August but inclusion on Germany’s red list dashes hopes of a bumper August

All over Spain those working in the tourism sector are reporting a busy month of July and hoping for a bumper August as Spaniards enjoy their annual summer holidays at the beaches and in the mountains, but in terms of international tourism the outlook remains doubtful despite the recent relaxation of travel restrictions for those living in the UK.

The UK is usually the most important single source of international visitors to Spain, and the potential removal of the requirement for fully vaccinated tourists to quarantine on return from EU holidays would doubtless provide a welcome boost for the tourism sector in this country. But a week ago Germany, one of the two other largest markets for Spain, placed the entire country on its red travel list, and the number of foreign visitors arriving in the Costas remains far lower than in 2019, prior to the pandemic.

On the face of it, the latest monthly statistics published this week by the Spanish government, relating to June, show signs of recovery within the sector. A total of 2.2 million visitors are reported to have arrived in Spain from abroad during the month: a ten-fold increase on the figure for last June, but of course that came immediately after the initial coronavirus lockdown and flights were still practically non-existent.

More realistic is the comparison with the same month in 2019, when over 8.8 million sunseekers flocked to Spain, and this shows that the amount of international tourism in June 2021 had recovered to just a quarter of what might be considered a “normal” level.

During this June the number of tourists from the UK reached just 142,507 as flights began to operate again despite travel restrictions remaining in place, but two years ago the figure was reported as being 2.06 million! In this context the largest sources of foreign visitors this June were Germany (500,000) and France (439,000), although both figures are still under half those reported in the same month in 2019.

In economic terms too, the sector remains alarmingly close to a bare minimum level of activity. Two years ago it was calculated that international tourists spent over 9.7 billion euros while in Spain during June but this year the figure is just 2.4 billion – a decrease of around 75 per cent.

During the first half 2021 it is estimated that spending by British visitors amounted to just 299 million euros as opposed to over 7.7 billion in 2019, equating to a 97.2 per cent loss in economic activity derived from UK tourists!

As ever, there are certain grounds for optimism. Although hospital patient numbers continue to rise it appears that the peak of the fifth wave of coronavirus infection in Spain has passed its peak, and this could lead to a more lenient view of travel to this country being taken by the German government.

At the same time, of course, travel between Spain and the UK has now become a lot easier, at least for those who are fully vaccinated, and more and more people fall into this category as the immunization campaign advances in both countries.

However, the reality is that a rapid return to normality in the international tourism sector in Spain now appears to be a distant possibility, and that although the figures for July and August are likely to show further increases the level of activity will remain a long way below that of 2019.