ARCHIVED - The Spanish international tourism sector lost 3.8 billion euros in February alone
Just 15,000 UK visitors were allowed into Spain as opposed to 907,000 last February!
The importance to the Spanish economy of reactivating the international tourism sector was further underlined on Tuesday by the publication of data relating to the month of February, when it is reported that the number of visitors to this country reached just 284,000, representing a year-on-year decrease of 93.6 per cent.
The economic effect of the decimation of the sector is calculated to have been almost identical, with the amount spent by foreign visitors dropping by 93.3 per cent to 322 million euros – in other words, the economic activity “lost” to the pandemic during the month equates to some 3.8 billion euros.
It is clear that the effect of Covid-19 on tourism has been absolutely devastating, but the February figures also demonstrate that there are small exceptions to the almost total standstill brought about by the surge in infection over the winter. The number of visitors arriving from France fell by “only” 87 per cent in comparison with the same month in 2020 – the last before the pandemic disrupted life in Europe – and the neighbouring country thus provided more visitors to Spain than any other.
This is a role normally filled by the UK, but in February the strict ban on foreign travel imposed by Boris Johnson’s government was among the factors which resulted in only 14,319 Britons reaching Spain. This represents a decrease of 98.4 per cent in comparison with last year, while spending by UK nationals while visiting this country dropped from 842 million euros to just 17 million euros, a fall of 98 per cent.