The tourism boom means the sector will be worth 178 billion euros to the economy this year
The tourism boom that Spain has experienced in the last 18 months has allowed the sector to recover the level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) it had before the coronavirus pandemic. Tourism will close the year representing 12.6% of the national GDP, matching the figures for 2019, according to the latest report from Exceltur.
These figures mean that tourism is forecast to be worth 178.8 billion euros to the Spanish economy, almost 14% more than the income of 2019, according to the tourism employers' associations. "Tourism will contribute to the economy at the same level as before the health crisis," said José Luis Zoreda, executive vice president of Exceltur, during the presentation of the report.
Despite these great figures, if inflation is discounted, real tourism GDP will close the year 1% below the 2019 level, when the rest of the Spanish economy is already 1% above. Exceltur said the pandemic losses of 160 billion euros with almost zero activity for two years must be taken into account.
But companies are still far from reaching the profits they had in 2019, despite the fact that their revenues are well above those figures. This is because margins are limited by the high costs they are suffering, with supplies and labour costs growing "at double-digit rates”.
Fuel has risen by more than 35% in the last two years, electricity by 31%, supplies by 30%, and labour costs by 15%, according to the tourism employers' report.
But undoubtedly one of the improvements that the sector has experienced in the last year is in the field of employment. The good economic figures have led to a 6% increase in job creation in the sector, which means that June closed with 126,800 more workers employed in the tourism sector.
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