The results of a survey on tourist spending carried out by Egatur show a severe fall in the number of foreign tourists visiting Spain last year, and a fall in the amount of money they spent here. The fall in revenue from foreign tourism is partly down to British tourists who spent 17.7 percent less last year compared to 2008. In total British tourists spent almost 11,000 million euros followed by German tourists who spent almost 9000 million euros in Spain last year which is 6% less than in 2008. The number of visitors from France, Nordic countries and Italy also went down according to the survey by Egatur. Figures from the survey showed that foreign tourists spent 12.3% less on hotels last year whilst spending on other types of accommodation went up by 4.3%. The survey also confirms what many people in the tourist sector feared – that problems in the global economy have led to a dramatic fall in foreign tourism.

Costa Blanca one of the worst hit areas

Foreign tourists who visited the Valencian region, one of Spain’s most important tourist areas, in 2009 spent around 679 million euros less during their holidays compared to the previous year.

The total amount that foreign tourists spent in this part of Spain last year was just over 4000 million euros.

This significant fall of almost 15% in the total amount spent by foreign tourists in the Valencian region places this region at the top of the list of places which suffered the biggest decreases in the number of foreign visitors in 2009.

The Canary Islands is not far behind with a fall of 13.4% with revenue from foreign tourism 1,405 million euros less than the previous year which translates as a massive 40% fall in the total national loss of revenue from foreign tourism (-3,500 million euros).

The Balearic Islands saw a fall of 7.2% in foreign tourism compared to 2008, which translates into a loss of revenue of 682 million euros – a similar figure to the Valencian region.

Both of these regions are popular with foreign tourists for their sunny climates and sandy beaches as well as their nightlife. The Balearic Islands is followed by Andalucia (-6.7% and 527 million euros less in revenue compared to 2008) and Catalonia (-6% and 615 million euros less).

The only place not to suffer from the decrease in numbers of foreign tourists was Madrid which was the only Spanish region to earn more from tourism in 2009 than the previous year. Foreign tourism in Madrid increased by 9.6% compared to 2008 and revenue by around 500 million euros.