Tourism in Catalonia up by 2.3% in May

 Barcelona (ACN).- Catalonia received up to 1,521,679 foreign tourists in May, a 2.3% increase in comparison to last year. This figure means that Catalonia accounts for 1 in 4 foreign visitors in Spain or 25% of the total number, and is still the leading destination in the country. The figures from the Touristic Movements in the Border (FRONTUR), by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, show that foreign visits increased by 8% in the first five months of 2014 to almost 5.5 million people.

Visitors coming from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Asia where the ones that increased more in May in Catalonia, helping achieve the 2.3% jump. Globally, the biggest increase in Spain was of Belgian tourists, up by 24.2%. Despite this, most tourists continue to be from the United Kingdom (27.6%), Germany (16.6%) and France (14.8%). Visitors from the Nordic countries, however, have fallen 0.2%.

 While Catalonia was the leading destination, other regions saw a bigger increase in their number of tourists. The strongest rises were in the Canary Islands (up by 13.1%) and Andalucía (up by 10.1%). In Valencia, foreign tourism rose by 2.8% in May and by 7.1% in the first months of the year, with 602.863 visitors. The Balearic Islands are the second most popular destination after Catalonia. Visitors there rose by 1.2% in May and by 2.5% in the first five months of 2014, with 1.374.894 tourists.

 According to the figures by FRONTUR, up to 84% of foreign tourists came to the Spanish Peninsula by plane, while 14.5% travelled by car or bus. Most tourists stay in hotels (69.8%), apartments (30.2%), their own house or of that of family members (17.3%) and rented properties (8.3%).