Growth figures have been cut in half, and tourism no longer drives the Spanish economy.

SPAIN’S tourist industry growth has slowed down significantly according to sector group Exceltur which claims it is no longer the ‘main driver of the country’s economy’.

It claims that weaker spending by European and American tourists has led to a lower contribution to the economy this year.

The comments coincide with a record-breaking year for foreign tourists and a record number of overseas passengers at Spain’s airports.

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Some tourists from France and Germany reduced their spending in Spain, while this was partially offset by UK, Polish and Chinese tourists.

Exceltur, despite the reversal, still predicts that all tourism related activity in the country will grow by 2.8% in 2020, down from the 3.3% predicted in July.

In the last year, tourism reported a growth of 5.5%.

Exceltur’s estimate that the tourism sector will contribute 13.1% towards Spain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year is lower than its initial estimate of 13,5%.

Oscar Perelli Vice President of Exceltur said that “Tourism has no longer been the main driver in the Spanish Economy.”

He said that the expected growth in Spain’s economy of 2.6% will not be exceeded by tourism.

The high summer season saw a 2.8% increase in sales across all tourism businesses, including hotels, airlines, restaurants and other related businesses.

It was a big drop from last year’s 6.3%.

Exceltur anticipates a 2% increase in sales for the fourth quarter 2025.

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