The consulting and professional services firm BRAINTRUST, a leader in the tourism sector, has issued a new report from its Tourism Barometer and announced a new record for foreign tourism in our country, exceeding all forecasts and reaching 91 million foreign tourists, who would leave a total of around €125 billion in our country, according to data provided by the consulting firm, provided that the macroeconomic environment and geopolitical situation remain stable.
The number of foreign travelers will rise to 91 million, growing by around 7%.
According to data from BRAINTRUST, Spain is set to break another record for international tourists in 2024, reaching a figure of 91 million foreign travelers, confirming the strength of the Spain brand outside our borders, benefiting from certain external factors, such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the persistent situation in Gaza, which continue to cause many trips to shift from eastern to western Europe. However, it also highlights attributes of our country such as safety, accommodation capacity, magnificent infrastructure, the hospitality of the local population, the modernization of Spanish companies, and the suitability of tourism as an activity, which is undergoing a migration from a model of limited added value to a model of excellence and quality. Although there is still a long way to go, it shows that most companies in our country are doing their homework.
Spending by foreign tourists would skyrocket to €125 billion, increasing by nearly 15%.
Foreign tourism spending would skyrocket to unprecedented levels, as a result of increased visitor numbers, but also due to price increases caused by inflation and extremely high demand, which would allow companies in Spain to adjust their prices with a higher margin, facilitating a recovery in profits after several years in which the rise in supply and operating costs outstripped the increase in average prices.
BRAINTRUST claims that spending would increase to 125 billion, rising almost 15% above the already impressive figures for 2023, which were already up 25% on 2022. This would mean renewed growth in all quarters, exceeding all possible forecasts and placing Spain once again at the forefront of global tourism, where it is increasingly well positioned, and making this sector a fundamental driver of the economy, with forecasts of reaching up to 15% of GDP and 20% of direct and indirect employment generated in the coming decades, placing this industry in the spotlight of all the policies of the different governments.
According to Ángel García Butragueño, Director of Tourism at BRAINTRUST: "Our data points to another record year for foreign tourism in Spain, a phenomenon that will continue to be consistent, given the strength of our country's tourism brand. Although it is true that we are once again receiving borrowed tourists, we have a magnificent opportunity to build loyalty among new travelers, provided that we demonstrate that the experience in Spain is unique and different from other competing destinations. The real challenge lies in continuing to transform the industry while welcoming an increasing number of tourists each year; we cannot continue to believe that this will last forever. We have a responsibility to manage supply properly. We run the risk of dying of success if prices skyrocket or service deteriorates, something that would be intolerable but could happen if we continue to concentrate business in mature coastal destinations, while inland Spain has an incomparable value proposition that needs to be promoted. Public bodies should coordinate to promote the Spain brand as a whole, decentralizing tourist flows, thereby boosting the industry as a whole and providing the model with economic, social, and environmental sustainability, which must be the goal to achieve, fighting climate change, depopulation, and aging in some rural areas, while promoting more respectful, conscious, and exemplary tourism in the most popular areas, avoiding the tourism phobia that we must flee from.
The six main autonomous communities continue to account for more than 90% of spending, leaving room for opportunity for domestic tourism.
Following an in-depth analysis, BRAINTRUST once again highlights that there is much work to be done, given that foreign tourism in 2023 will once again be concentrated in six autonomous communities, which together account for more than 90% of total international traveler spending, leaving a meager 10% for the rest of the regions.
Catalonia once again tops the ranking, followed by the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Andalusia, the Community of Madrid, and the Valencian Community.
Seasonality remains a challenge, although it has decreased slightly compared to previous years, down to 11%.
BRAINTRUST has once again studied the seasonality of foreign tourism in 2023 and concluded that, although it will decrease slightly, specifically by 11%, it remains a challenge that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.
While the Canary Islands and Madrid continue to focus on a more seasonally adjusted model, leading the way among the main tourist destinations with this approach, the Balearic Islands continue to strive towards achieving this seasonality adjustment.
The Balearic Islands stand out with a seasonality index of 518, followed by Catalonia with 124, the Valencian Community with 105, while Andalusia has an index of 88, Madrid 26, and the Canary Islands with an ideal index of 18. The consulting firm clarifies that the higher the index, the greater the problem of seasonality, and the lower the index, the less of a problem seasonality is for the tourism model.
According to José Manuel Brell, Partner in charge of Quantitative Studies and Models, and the Tourism and Leisure Industry at BRAINTRUST: "Tourism is once again proving to be the economic engine of our country, with overwhelming strength and commendable resilience. However, there are many challenges that we must overcome in order to have a truly sustainable model. We must not continue with a mass approach because it jeopardizes the delivery of our value proposition and would endanger the customer experience that we want to provide to foreign visitors. At BRAINTRUST, we remain committed to transformation, helping organizations and companies along this path, placing sustainability at the heart of the foreseeable growth we will experience in the coming years, where Spain is positioned as the undisputed world leader. Taking a close look at the data, as we are doing once again at BRAINTRUST, reveals the keys to future strategies that need to be designed in order to achieve a form of tourism that is more respectful of destinations and their residents. Tourism will be sustainable or it will not be at all.
