Spain, some of whose cities have been hotbeds of agitation about ‘over-tourism’ and some of whose beach towns have worried about the revival of travel to rival sand-and-sea sites in North Africa and Egypt, got some good or bad new this week, depending on your point of view.
Industry Minister Reyes Maroto reported that Spain will see perhaps half a million more visitors this summer than last. He also predicted that “Spain will set a new record in arrivals of international tourists, exceeding 29.6 million visitors.” He also predicted record spending by visitors, $38.3 billion. Last year Spain had 28.6 million visitors.
Spain is the world’s second-most-visited country, topped only by France.