Spain bets on tourism recovery in spring

Spain should see more tourists return in the spring after two years of health crisis disruption.

That's according to a senior government official Thursday (January 20).

Spain was the second most visited country in the world in 2019 - with a record 80 million visitors.

The global health crisis caused a slump in holiday making, however.

Tourism reached only a third of that number last year due to lockdowns and travel restrictions.

But Tourism Secretary Fernando Valdes is convinced that is about to change.

He said expectations for this year are good, and believes overall visitor numbers will be more than two-thirds of the 2019 record.

Some major Spanish hotel chains have seen bookings rise.

Rising vaccination rates and fewer travel restrictions allowed international travel to Spain to accelerate towards the end of 2021.

Though the country is confident of seeing more travellers, the World Tourism Organization said this week a full global travel recovery was not expected before 2024.