Spanish Tourist figures fall in Feb

 

The number of tourists arriving in Spain fell again in February after January broke an 18-month slide, the Industry Ministry said on Monday.

International tourist arrivals dropped 3.8 percent in February from a year earlier to 2.7 million people, after rising in January by 1.1 percent.

Tourism in Spain, the third most visited country in the world after the United States and France, contributes around 11 percent of gross domestic product.

The government has said it expects the sector to continue to play an important role in the economy, but tourism has been badly hit by the global downturn, the strong euro and rising competition from cheaper holiday spots.

February's slump was mostly due to bad weather across the European continent, the ministry said.

"The month of February was the wettest in 30 years in Spain ... and this has lead to flights and reservations being cancelled and roads being closed across the country," it said.

The number of British holidaymakers visiting Spain in February fell 7.7 percent year on year, while the number of German visitors fell 2.6 percent. German and British tourists accounted for 40 percent of all visitors to Spain in February.

Stocks in Spain's hotel chain NH Hoteles fell on the news and were down 2.62 percent at 2.97 euros at 0959 GMT. Sol Melia was off 3.57 percent at 6.35 euros while the blue chip IBEX fell 1.77 percent.