Catalonia hosted almost 4 million foreign tourists between January and March, 10% more than 2013

Barcelona (ACN).- 3.93 million international tourists visited Catalonia in the first quarter of 2014, which represents a 10.4% increase compared to the same period of 2013, according to the Survey of Tourist Border Movements, published on Thurday by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. In the first quarter of 2014, the growing trend seems to be continuing and 10% more foreigners visiting Spain traveled to the land that has Barcelona as its capital. On top of this, 2012 and 2013 were already excellent years for international tourism in Catalonia, posting significant annual increases. With 3,929,163 foreigners, Catalonia is the Autonomous Community in Spain receiving the second highest number of tourists during these three winter months of the current year, only surpassed by the Canaries, which welcomed 4,077,759 international visitors. In addition, in April, 1.381 million foreigners visited Catalonia, representing an 11.6% increase on 2013 figures and coming first among the Autonomous Communities in Spain. Italy, France, Germany and Belgium are the commonest countries of origin of these visitors.

In the first 4 months of the year, Catalonia welcomed 5.3 million international tourists. In the whole of Spain, 15.3 million arrived in the same period, which means Catalonia hosted 34.6% of them. In addition, the 15.3 million visitors represent a 9.2% increase on the same period of 2013, reaching a new record for these first 4 months of the year. The three main countries bringing tourists to Spain during this time of the year were: the United Kingdom, Germany and France. However, the increase in tourists from Belgium and Switzerland was particularly important. For instance, the number of Belgians visiting Spain between January and April increased by 27.9% on last year’s figures. In April, 5.2 million international tourists visited Spain, a 13.2% increase on the same period of 2013.

Regarding the type of accommodation in the January-April period for the whole of Spain, 9.9 million chose a hotel, a 9.2% increase on 2013 figures. 5.3 million slept in non-hotel establishments, representing a 9.3% increase compared to last year.