According to figures by Turespaa from Aena records, Spain welcomed close to nine million passengers from foreign airports in August, accounting for 87% of those who came in the same month of 2019.
These figures are "extremely promising," says Reyes Maroto, minister of industry, trade, and tourism, "since they confirm the intense revival of the tourist sector that is fighting well the uncertainties produced by the conflict and inflation." Although they are made with the caution that is required in such difficult circumstances, she said, "Our projections for the autumn are positive.
Schenghen Visa reports that travellers leaving from all major countries increased in August. One in four travellers was from the United Kingdom, and they mostly travelled to the Balearic Islands. UK travellers made up 78.6% of low-cost airline travellers. 2,240,299 passengers in total travelled through Spanish airports from the UK market, an 84.6% increase over 2019.
14.9% of the total, or 1,338,855 passengers, were from Germany and most of them were travelling to the Balearic Islands. In this market, travellers choose conventional airlines at a rate that is almost exactly 50/50 (51.8% for traditional airlines vs. 48.2% for low cost). Pre-pandemic arrivals made up 87% of the German market.
831,581 travellers from Italy also took flights, mostly to Catalonia. Eight out of ten Italian travellers flew on budget carriers. 711,189 French travellers mostly travelled to the same places.
