TOURISTS visiting Spain shelled out far more cash in 2017 than the previous year, even though Catalunya's disputed independence referendum saw spending fall in the autumn.
Year-on-year growth, as at the end of November, was around 12.9%, and for that month, holidaymakers spent 10.3% more in Spain than they did in November 2016.
According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in 2017 – excluding December, for which figures are not yet available – visitors parted with a total of €82.3 billion whilst on holiday in Spain.
In November alone, they spent €4.64bn.
After 10 months of continuing growth, November saw a drop in cash stumped up by tourists visiting Catalunya – of 4.2% compared with the same month in 2016.
But even then, holidaymakers in the north-eastern region left behind €18.3bn in 11 months, or 10.6% more than in the same period in 2016.
Including accommodation, the average holidaymaker spent a total of €1,054 – around 2.7% more than the previous year – with daily spending rising 0.4% to €139, relating to food, excursions, shopping and entertainment.
A typical stay in Spain in 2017 lasted 7.6 days, up from 7.4 days as at November 2016.
Predictably, the highest spending was seen in July (€11.9bn) and August (€11.34bn), steadily rising over the year from January's €4.25bn, then going down after the main summer months.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com