Foreign tourism in Catalonia grew by 10%in the first quarter of 2014

Barcelona (ACN).- The number of foreign tourists who visited Catalonia between January and March reached 2.55 million people, which represents a 9.8% increase compared to the same period last year, according to the Frontur survey published on Tuesday by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. In addition, the number of international visitors visiting Catalonia in March this year reached almost 1.01 million. This figure represents a 4.9% increase compared to the same month of 2013, despite the Easter holidays being not in March but in April in 2014.

In the whole of Spain, 10.1 million foreigners visited the country in the first quarter of 2014, a 7.2% increase on the previous year. 25.3% of those visitors went to Catalonia, which ranked second among the Autonomous Communities. The Canaries topped the ranking with 3.12 million alien visitors, 31% of Spain's total.

German tourists were the biggest group of foreign visitors who travelled to Catalonia in the first quarter of 2014. They were followed by tourists from Asian countries.