Spain Tourism

Although historical sites and unique cultural features had always made Spain attractive to foreign visitors, the tourist takeoff began in the mid-1950s. This shooting off was based primarily on the recreational assets of the Mediterranean seashore areas. The country had fewer than 1 million tourists in 1950, but this number has been increased steadily, reaching more than 34 million in 1973, and more than 50 million in 2003.

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	Puerto de la Cruz Tenerife

The tourist boom had a significant, and not always completely beneficial, impact on the Spanish economy. Although this growing activity was a welcome source of foreign currency and created new employment opportunities, it also diverted capital investment and construction efforts away from more stable economic activities to a sector dutiful to seasonal fluctuations, the whims of fashion, and worldwide economic conditions.

Nevertheless, the significance of tourism to the Spanish economy was substantial. Net tourist receipts averaged about 5 percent of GDP in the early 1970s, but in 2003 that amount has been raised to almost 10 percent, and the receipts have been increased to 14.7 billion US$, an amount that is enough to cover the country's merchandise trade deficit. On a net basis, Spain's tourist revenues were the highest in the world. The United States had higher gross revenues, but its tourist expenditures exceeded revenues by a considerable margin.

In 2003 Spain has received more than 50 million foreign visitors, and this feature constituted 12 percent more than those who arrived in 1999. Most of them came from the European Community, with France, Portugal, Britain, and West Germany leading the statistics. American tourists represented less than 2 percent of the total, but they spent more per person than their European counterparts, making the United States the second source of tourist receipts after the United Kingdom. Spain Tourism was projected to remain strong in 2003, with an increase of visitors of 5 percent, but the average expenditure per foreign visitor increased only 2.4 percent during this year.


	La Alhambra

The most popular resort areas were the Balearic Islands and the Mediterranean coastal areas. The Balearic Islands generally accounted around 34 percent of the number of nights spent in Spain by foreign tourists; the Costa Brava and the Costa Dorada, stretching from the french border through Barcelona to Tarragona, accounted for 22 percent; and the Costa del Sol and Costa de la Luz, extending from Almería on the southern, or mediterranean, coast to Ayamonte on the Atlantic coast at the Portuguese border, accounted for 12 percent. The distant Canary Islands attracted 13 percent of Spain's foreign guests, and Madrid received an 8 percent. Cultural festivals were instituted in Santander and Madrid in an effort to increase the attractiveness of these cities. The seaside resorts continued to dominate the tourist industry, despite a considerable effort from the government to stimulate interest in visiting historical and cultural sites.

Although areas on the northern coast facing the Bay of Biscay were accessible to the rest of Europe and had good weather during the summer, when most Europeans and Americans took their holydays, the share of the tourist trade was only about 3 percent on these areas. San Sebastian was the centre of the tourist industry on the Bay of Biscay, and nearby towns were also popular, but their charm were limited by tourist apprehensions concerning the political in the Basque region.


	Torre del oro y Giralda

Tourist centres farther to the west, on the cantabrian coast and in Galicia, were not so commercially developed as the better-known Basque or Mediterranean resorts. Accordingly, their appeal to tourists was their traditional Spanish flavour. They also provided visitors with less elaborate, but also less expensive, accommodations.

Like most nations dependent on tourist trade, Spain was concerned about the underutilization, and sometimes overutilization, of facilities that were caused by seasonal variation in weather. These variations caused marked differences in monthly tourist revenues and international trade receipts.

July and august were the most active months whereas february was the least active. Efforts were made to develop winter sports facilities in order to increase the number of tourists visiting Spain during the colder months; however, the competition from France, Switzerland, and Austria, where snow conditions were more reliable, constituted an insurmountable obstacle to success in this area.

Spain tourism was recognized, even before the Second World War, as an important economic activity being worthy of government support. A chain of official hotels, known as tourist inns (paradores), was initiated at historical sites during the, and it was extended during the spanish post-war years. Tourist promotion was a function of the Ministry of Interior until 1951, when the Ministry of Information and Tourism was created. In the late 80s, the Ministry of Transportation, Tourism, and Communications took on this responsibility. The National Tourist Company, a state-owned company, was engaged in the construction of tourist infrastructures.

Tourist promotion was encompassed with routine activities as advertising and distributing maps, information folders, and lists of accommodations and shops. In addition, tourist offices were maintained in major foreign cities in order to encourage, to advice, and to assist people planning to visit Spain. Inside the country, a network of more than seventy local tourist information offices, found in all major cities and sites of interest, provided tourist assistance.

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