Spain’s tourism industry saw strong recovery before omicron hit

OVIEDO, Spain

New data published on Tuesday shows Spain’s international tourism industry was making a strong recovery to pre-pandemic levels just before omicron hit.

“The recovery of international tourism continued to gradually advance in November, despite the increased contagion in our main European markets,” said Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto in a statement.

November was Spain’s strongest relative month since the pandemic struck. With 3.3 million tourists, the country recovered 72% of the number of tourists seen in 2019.

Monthly spending was also up 677% compared to November 2020, according to figures published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

Despite the promising signs, Maroto warned that the “the uncertainty” surrounding Spain’s latest wave and the omicron variant could “delay recovery.”

Spain’s economy took an outsized hit during the pandemic, as it is highly reliant on international tourism.

In 2019, tourism made up 12.4% of the country’s GDP. In 2020, however, its portion plummeted to 5.5%, according to INE figures.

But as the vaccine rolled out in 2021, more people began flocking to Spain — particularly to the Canary and Balearic Islands.

In the first 11 months of 2021, international tourists spent €31 billion ($34.96 billion) in Spain. That’s well up from €19 billion ($21.42 billion) in 2020, but around one-third of the spending seen in 2019.

Throughout the year, Germans, Brits and the French have been the top spenders in Spain.

Maroto said Spain's tourism recovery has been in part thanks to Spain’s high vaccination rate, which is now beyond 90% in people aged 12 and older.

Yet, Spain is now immersed in one of Europe’s worst COVID-19 waves. Over the last two weeks, an unprecedented one out of every 43 residents has tested positive for the virus.

At the same time, some of the country’s more touristic regions have brought back restrictions. Catalonia, for instance, has an overnight curfew.