The number of Russian tourists in Spain is falling due to the war, but the number of English tourists is growing. Undoubtedly, the UK has always been the great hope of the Spanish tourism sector; especially this year due to the fall in Russian tourism.
During 2019 and before the arrival of Covid-19, about 1.3 million Russian tourists spent their holidays in Spain. This figure has declined due to the pandemic and is suffering again due to the international conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The great hope is being placed on British tourism, the leading source market for Spanish tourism. Despite this, it will host 4.3 million people in 2021, compared to 18 million who visited the country before the health crisis. Therefore, restoring pre-pandemic travel volume is one of the biggest challenges for the recovery of the Spanish economy.
Brits have no limits
“In 2022, British tourists will be able to travel to our country without restrictions, so we expect them to fill the tourism gap in other markets,” says Alberto Peris, Executive Director and Founding Partner of the CESAE School of Business and Tourism, who notes that ” To achieve the 2019 figures, the British must choose Spain as their holiday destination.”
And all this is in a scenario in which forecasts for 2022 promised to reach the level before 2019 in many respects. At the time, Spanish tourism accounted for 12.4% of GDP. This figure could return thanks to MICE tourism, the end of ERTE, and the recovery of tourism professionals, as well as the return of leisure and cultural agendas to cities and religious tourism.
In this sense, Alberto Peris said that “domestic tourism will play a decisive role this summer; especially to make up for those gaps in foreign tourism.” The Executive Director and founding partner of the CESAE School of Business and Tourism said that “the tourism balance shows that Spaniards are no longer traveling abroad as they used to. This reinforces the idea that domestic tourism will dominate in the summer, where traditional segments such as solar and beach destinations will experience a great summer season, as well as urban and inland destinations.”
Rising spending by the British, Germans, and French
Adding to the industry’s optimism is the fact that visitor spending from the UK, as well as Germany and France, have already surpassed pre-pandemic levels before summer even started. A recent survey by Hilton found that British tourists are planning a big family holiday in 2022 and expect to spend £1,246 (€1,460) per person, 34% above the pre-pandemic budget.
This means that the dominance of domestic tourism will not prevent British and French tourists, according to all hotel forecasts, from exceeding pre-pandemic levels with a significant increase in spending levels. This, among other things, can absorb the negative impact of the lack of tourists from other countries, especially Russian and Chinese visitors, and ultimately continue to bring us closer to the indicators of foreign visitors in 2019.
There is no doubt that 2022 and 2023 will be pivotal in determining the ability of Spanish tourism to maintain its leadership in the tourism sector and it is imperative that Spain is well prepared to continue to be at the top, which is everyone’s challenge.