Tourism spending dives after rise

PALMA
THE Secretary of State for Tourism, Joan Mesquida, yesterday reported a marked fall in tourism spending last month after an encouraging rise during January.

January's figures posted the first increase in tourism spending since April, 2009, but Mesquida said that Spain was back in the red yesterday after last month's 3.5 percent fall.

The Secretary of State claimed that there are a number of factors to explain last month's down turn.
Firstly, there was a drop off in the number of foreign visitors and secondly, those holiday makers who are coming to Spain, are spending less.
Mesquida also said that the dreadful winter weather which affected the whole country for most of last month did not help either.

BALEARICS WORST HIT
Mesquida also claimed that last-minute bookers and people looking for a quick weekend getaway were put off by the weather.
He also added that the recession is continuing to make people think twice about going abroad on holiday across Europe.
The 3.5 percent drop in tourism spending was very similar to the 3.8 percent decline in the number of foreign tourists, but Mesquida is confident that the market will pick up as we approach the beginning of the summer season.

However, one alarming factor Mesquida revealed yesterday was that the region worst hit last month was the Balearics.
According to the latest figures from the Ministry for Tourism, Industry and Commerce, tourism spending in the region fell by 22 percent during February and hotel occupancy was also down by 11 percent.

The two most popular Spanish destinations for foreign visitors in February were the Canary Islands and Catalonia.