INTERNATIONAL TOURISM FLOWS

Tourism Industry in Spain



Tourism Industry in Spain

Introduction

Like other major industries, tourism is considered as a growing industry worldwide. Today it is common for people to cross the globe in search of an exotic paradise for shopping, attending a conference, play golf, participate in a tournament sports, betting in a casino, visit a theme park, relax in a spa or be medical or cosmetic surgery in a five-star hospital. Tourist can meet their needs and desires in the same for fast food chains, supermarkets and clothing stores that are offering exciting offers to tourist (Rebecca, 2009, pp. 20).

Tourism is truly a global business that makes everything good on earth. Most travelers would not want to be aware that they are fueling a multibillion-dollar industry and contributing to unsustainable patterns of consumption and production. And there is little awareness that they are the ones who pay the social and environmental costs.

In 2010 inbound tourism of Spain recovered marginally, halting the slump witnessed in the previous two years, when visitors from major source markets plummeted. The modest gains did not improve the dire situation for the Spanish travel and tourism industry, but marked a turning point for things to come. In 2011 the Spanish market will also benefit from political unrest in North African destinations. However, the long road to recovery in major source markets will continue to hinder a quick rebound of tourism activity in Spain.

Domestic tourism finally paid the consequences of ramping unemployment, hitting 20% of Spanish workers. Amidst high unemployment and gloomy economic prospects, an increasing number of Spanish households did not take a summer holiday. Beach tourist destinations were the most significantly affected by the deterioration of economic conditions for many Spaniards. This was a stark contrast with outbound tourism, which continued to see increasing numbers of departures (Rebecca, 2009, pp. 20).

Key Trends and Developments

Impact of the recession

The economic recession continued to negatively affect major European source markets in 2010, deterring many Europeans from visiting Spain. However, economic green shoots abroad halted the decline in incoming tourist numbers, witnessed in 2008 and 2009. High unemployment at home and gloomy job prospects halted the growth in domestic tourism, sending shockwaves through beach resort tourism. The current recession has changed some tourism patterns, and most will remain for a long time.

The sharp deterioration in the Spanish public finances forced the government to raise VAT in the second half of 2010. The Spanish government was also forced to introduce massive spending cuts, which negatively affected investment in new transport infrastructure, such as high-speed trains and new motorways. The spending cuts also negatively affected the advertising budgets of tourism boards of regional governments and local councils. Spending cuts will inevitably affect the travel and tourism industry over the coming years.

Current Impact

Inbound tourism recovered marginally in 2010; the number of leisure arrivals increased by a negligible amount. Major European source markets continued to perform poorly as a result of sluggish economic ...