27/04/2013 00:00
TW
0

Palma.—Tourist spending in the Balearic islands skyrocketed during the first three months of this year reaching an unprecedented 476 million euros.
British and German tourists have been singled out as the main cause for the increased figures with a spending power that defies the recession.
Despite these numbers the islands are still bottom of the pile compared to other regions according to data released yesterday by the Department of Industry, Energy and Tourism.

In March, total spending went up by 8.6% after the downfall in February (-16.9%) and an increase in January (10.7%).
On average, last month average spending per tourist was 7.1% lower than usual but on a daily basis there was an increase of 5'9% (around 102 euros). suggesting tourists have been spending less time on holiday in the Balearics.

On a national level the spending of international tourists reached 9.306 million euros in the first three months of the year, meaning an improvement around 8.4% compared to last year. The daily average went up 7% until March (110 euros), while the numbers per tourist rose by 6% (up to 991 euros).

British
The biggest spenders at national level were the German visitors with over 1.560 million euros, around 16.8% of the total and 3.8% more compared to last year followed by the British with 1.52 million (3.5% rise).

In terms of standings, the Canary Islands lead the way followed by Catalonia with 3.163 and 1.985 million euros and a growth of 7% and 14.2% respectively.

The government has pointed that the cause for these figures could be the fact the religious holidays (Semana Santa) were celebrated in March.