Germans save the day in first quarter of the year

THE number of foreign tourists visiting the Balearics in March dropped by 3.4 percent (11'500 persons) to a total of 324'668 compared to the same month last year, but figures for the first quarter show a 2.2 percent increase, thanks to the influx of Germans. The March drop was the first since the tourist sector started its recovery last September, according to Frontur, a survey of tourist movements at borders. The number of visitors in the first quarter of the year was 703'000, thanks to the recovery of the German market - up by ten percent, compared to an 18 percent drop in the first quarter of last year. The fact that the Balearics is their favourite destination was underlined by the fact that the number of German visitors to Spain in the first quarter of the year dropped by nearly nine percent. Even so, the number of German visitors has been dwindling steadily - January figures were up 22 percent on the previous January, but in February the increase was only 11 percent, and in March, just five percent. The positive evolution of the German market contrasts with that of the British market, where figures were down by eight percent in the first quarter of the year. The number of visitors to Spain was 8.9 million, 5.4 percent up from the same period last year, although figures for March were almost stationary - up by just 1.1 percent to 3.3 million tourists. The central ministry of tourism said that the figures show the terrorist bombings of March 11 did not have a negative influence on tourism in Madrid, as the number of visitors in that month in the capital was up by nearly 24 percent, and the increase for the first quarter was 25.6 percent. Flying is the favourite form of transport, with seven million passengers (up by 6.5 percent), followed by road, used by 1.5 million tourists (up by 1.4 percent). Aviation accounted for nearly 79 percent of arrivals in March (up by 2.8 percent), while 17 percent of visitors came by road (up by 11 percent).
The Canary Islands were the most popular destination with 2.8 million visitors (down three percent), with 35 percent of them from the United Kingdom.
Catalonia was the second most popular destination, followed by Andalucia and Valencia.