BETTER CONNECTIVITY TO PROPEL INDIAN VISITOR ARRIVALS IN SPAIN IN 2026

In 2024, Spain received a record 94 million international tourists and international tourist expenditure also reached a new high of EUR 126 billion, driving economic prosperity, Miguel Sanz, Director General of Turespana, the Spanish tourism promotion organisation, tells India Outbound. Sanz adds that the Indian market is set to grow with better connectivity and strengthened bilateral ties.

- Ranvir Nayar

Q How did Spain perform as a tourism destination in 2024?

2024 has been a fantastic year for Spanish tourism. We reached a record 94 million international visitors this year. More importantly, we reached EUR 126 billion in international tourism expenditure and that brings an influx of prosperity to the country. For example, 12 pc of our workforce is employed in tourism, that means nearly 3 million families in the country live off tourism. We can say that 2024 has been so far the best year for tourism in Spain in history.

Which key markets contributed to Spain's tourism success in 2024?

The main markets for Spain, as far as tourism is concerned, are European markets. The British market, for example, is our biggest as 20 million British people come to Spain every year. That is almost a third of the British population travelling to Spain every year. The German market and French market also contributed to Spain's tourism. And over the last few years, the United States and Latin America have been growing at a very high speed, at two digit rates. We have also seen that Asian markets are growing very fast. We hope that we can also grow in the Indian market, because, we think that Spain has everything to offer for the Indian consumer.

Looking ahead to 2025, what are your expectations in terms of visitors?

2025, we think is going to be at least as good as 2024. Our projections say that the growing number of international visitors is going to be around 10 pc over 2024, setting another record. The tourism expenditure in Spain is going to be 16 pc above 2024. Thus, the prospects for 2025 are very good. We do not know yet if we are going to reach the 100 million mark.

We are working to make tourism not necessarily bigger in volume terms, but to grow in KPIs that relate to sustainability, that enriches the way of life of the Spanish people.