Turkey, which during the pandemic held the leadership in terms of the number of vacationers in the Mediterranean, this year gave up the first place to Spain – a destination that previously for many years firmly held a leading position in tourism among the countries of the Mediterranean.
This was the case in the first five months of 2022, i.e., from January to May, the flow of tourists to Spain increased by 609% and amounted to 22 million 744 thousand people, Turkish tourism media reported.
Great Britain has been the main supplier of tourists to Spanish resorts for many years in a row. During the specified period, 4 million 664 thousand travelers arrived from the Northern European country. The second place in the number of arrivals to the country in the Pyrenees was taken by Germany (3 million 245 thousand people), third by France (3 million 71 thousand vacationers), fourth by the Netherlands (1 million 313 thousand tourists), fifth by Italy (1 million 210 thousand people) and the sixth – Belgium (797 thousand vacationers).
If the Spanish resorts are triumphant from the 609-percent surge in tourism, then Turkey is happy with a more modest figure. During the five months, the number of visitors to Turkey amounted to 12 million 710 thousand people. This is only 207% more than in the same period last year.
However, the increased flow of tourists is not only income from tourism but also spending on vacationers, which has also grown significantly. Thus, Spain’s total income from tourism for the first five months amounted to 26 billion 776 million euros. Profit per tourist increased by 12.5% (up to EUR 1,152), and income per tourist per night increased by 25.7% (up to EUR 177). For comparison: the total income from tourism in Turkey during the same period also increased, but the income per tourist decreased by $89 – from $788 to $699.
Earlier DIP wrote that “Vacation in Turkey has become more expensive, but you can pay extra for “no russo touristo”.