July brings an Increase in Spanish tourist numbers

Spain's government says the nation's tourist arrivals rose by 4.5 percent in July, the biggest year-on-year increase in more than two years.

The tourism ministry says about 7 million tourists arrived last month, the third consecutive month of increase.

But the ministry also said Monday that 30 million foreign tourists arrived in the first seven months, down 0.4 percent on the same period in 2009.

Tourists from Britain topped the list with 7 million arrivals, followed by those from Germany with 5 million and France with 4.7 million.

Spain is consistently ranked among the world's top three tourist destinations — both by arrivals and income earned — along with France and the U.S.