Despite record inflation and soaring energy prices, the tourism industries in several key Mediterranean nations are witnessing a solid resurgence, according to new data.
According to Reuters.com, Spanish government officials stated that roughly nine million travellers travelled through the country’s international airports in August, a 13 percent decrease from the same month in 2019.
Inflation is producing higher costs and increased tourism spending, with Spain’s travel-related income of $11.16 billion nearly twice as high as the figure reported previous year during the same period. Tourism revenues in Spain are expected to reach 98 percent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, according to Spanish officials.
“Tourist expenditure is a metric that assesses how we succeeded to leave the epidemic by enhancing the quality of our tourism industry,” Reyes Maroto, Spain’s Tourism Minister, told Reuters.com.
International visitors to Portugal exceeded pre-pandemic levels in July, and officials in Italy stated that nearly 49 million tourists spent at least one night in a hotel during the June-August summer season, a 6.9 percent decrease from 2019.
In Greece, the country’s finance ministry forecasted that tourism earnings will exceed $18 billion, breaking the previous high established in 2019. The first eight months of the year saw net budget revenues of $38 billion, thanks in part to higher-than-expected tourism receipts.