41 percent & nbsp; of the 59 million tourists who came to Spain in 2007 booked online.
Spain registered a total of 59.2 million foreign tourists in 2007, which represents a growth of 1.7%, as explained yesterday in Zaragoza by the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Joan Clos. Of this volume of arrivals, 41.3% booked their trip online (21.9% more) and 37.9% made the payment in this way (24.5% more).
Of those 59.2 million tourists (one million more than in 2006), Catalonia was the first destination, with a growth of 1.76%, although it was given more than its first market (the French) due to the good performance from the British and Italian. In second place was the Balearic Islands, with an increase of 0.7%. In the archipelago, the German issuer decreased by 2% and the British one increased by 2%. These two markets account for 70% of the total. For its part, the Canary Islands registered the only decrease (1.7%) among the major destinations. And the Community of Madrid (fifth destination) grew a spectacular 11.9%.
This 1.7% growth in tourist arrivals “represents a consolidation of Spain as a leading destination,” said Clos.
Regarding the source markets, the United Kingdom remains the leader with 16.3 million tourists and an increase of 0.5%, followed by Germany, which fell 0.7% with 10 million, and France, which, with 9 , 3 million grew 1.2%. Important were the growth of the Nordic countries (11.9%) and the United States (22%).
Regarding accommodation, the use of hotels grew by 4.5%, being 64.1% of the total, while non-hotel accommodation decreased by 2.7%.
More Internet, more low cost and fewer packages
A very relevant data is the notable increase in internet use. 49.5% of foreign tourists consulted information before traveling to Spain by this means (with a growth of 16.3%, while 41.3% booked (21.9% more) and 37.9% % paid online (24.5% more than in 2006).
This behavior is linked to the 33.9% increase in arrivals through low cost, according to the Secretary of State for Tourism and Commerce, Pedro Mejía. Palma was the first airport in 2007 for this type of traffic, followed by Barcelona, Malaga, Alicante and Madrid.
Regarding the mode of organization, 70% came without a package (7% more) and the remaining 30% with a tour operator package (7.9% less).
And with regard to spending, it amounted to 46,986 million euros between January and November 2007, with an increase of 3.5% compared to the same period in 2006. Average spending per tourist was 865 euros (1.4% more ), and the average daily expenditure was 94 euros (4.6%).
7 million more tourists in four years
Likewise, Joan Clos took the opportunity to make a tourist assessment of the legislature of the Socialist Government at the gates of the next general elections, and highlighted the increase in tourist arrivals, which have gone from 52.4 million in 2004 to those mentioned 59.2 million in 2007, which represents a growth of 16% in that period. And an increase of 90,000 hotel beds from 2004 to 2006, reaching 581,732 beds. Regarding the contribution of tourism to GDP, it has gone from 91,515 million in 2004 to 106,374 million euros in 2006, which represents an increase of 8%.