German, British tourists spur Spain's GDP gains while own economies flag

By Belén Carreño and Maria Martinez

MADRID/BERLIN (Reuters) - Spain received a record 10.9 million tourists in July, 7.3% more than a year ago, while their spending jumped 12%, stoking the Spanish economy's solid growth in contrast to some European peers responsible for much of the inflow of visitors.

Data released on Monday by the National Statistics Institute also showed that in the first seven months of 2024 spending by foreign visitors rose 18.6% to 71 billion euros ($79 billion), despite initial concerns over anti-tourism protests and extreme summer temperatures.

The boom, driven by British and German visitors, is expected to propel Spain's GDP growth to 2.4% this year, significantly above 0.7% expected for the euro zone or Germany's 0.3%, according to a Reuters poll.

Despite a 0.2% dip in Germany's second-quarter domestic consumption, German tourists increased their spending in Spain by almost 10% to an average of 1,340 euros per visit.

Britons, who account for one in five visitors, spent 7.5% more, or 1,389 euros in July.

"Spain is more competitive than Germany in the services sector," said Raymond Torres, chief economist at the Funcas think tank. "There is also a shift in consumption patterns, which have globally shifted towards spending on travel. People prefer to spend more on a better hotel."

Hauke Prigge, 34-year-old communication coach from Berlin, has visited Spain thrice so far this year, spending an average of 2,200 euros on each of his two-week visits - more than he would spend at home, he said.

After a 2017 peak for German tourism to Spain, a gradual decline followed as they explored other Mediterranean destinations, but since last year, data suggests a resurgence. Flight bookings for September - one of the German tourists' favourite months to travel - point to an 8.3% increase.

Prigge likes to travel in September, but also out of season - in March. "The weather there is much better when it is cold here," he said.

Germans are also changing their destinations within Spain.

Although they still mainly visit the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, many are now opting for mainland regions of Catalonia and Valencia.

($1 = 0.9029 euros)

(Reporting by Belén Carreño and María Martínez in Berlín; editing by Andrei Khalip)