Madrid: Spain announced on Monday it raked in a record €59 billion (Dh296 billion) from foreign tourists in 2013, luring an unprecedented number of visitors of whom many splurged more holiday cash.
Foreign tourists in Spain boosted overall spending by 9.6 per cent year-on-year in 2013, government figures showed, a significant boost to the fragile Spanish economy, which depends on tourism for more than 10 per cent of its economic activity.
“Spain closed 2013 with a historic record in international tourism spending,” the tourism ministry said in a statement.
British tourists, who flocked to Spain in the greatest numbers, spent a total of €12 billion, about one-fifth of the total. They were followed by the Germans who spent €9.7 billion and the French who spent €5.9 billion, the government said.
