Spain receives 75.6 mln int'l tourists in 2016, hits record high

Spain received a record-breaking 75.6 million international tourists in 2016, according to data published on Tuesday by Spain's Statistical Office (INE).

The figure indicated a 10.3-percent increase when compared with 2015, when Spain received 68.1 million international tourists, also a record high.

In 2016, there were 17.8 British visitors, a 12.4-percent increase on 2015, followed by the French, whose arrivals stood at 11.4 million, 7.1 percent more than a year earlier, and the Germans, whose arrivals reached 11.2 million, a 6.4-percent increase from the year prior.

As far as regions visited, the northeastern region of Catalonia was chosen as the main destination receiving 18 million tourists, followed by the two archipelagos of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands that received 13.3 million and 13 million international tourists respectively.

The Spanish minister of energy, tourism and digital agenda Alvaro Nadal, has recently predicted an optimistic 2017 for the tourist sector and for arrivals from Britain. "We expect the tourists sector not to be affected by the Brexit negotiations," he said.

He also emphasized the quality of Spain's tourist sector.

"We must be proud of it," he said, adding that "economic policy should aim at consolidating this sector." Endit