Foreign tourists spend over 63 bln euros in Spain in 2014

Foreign tourists spent 63.094 billion euros (about 71 billion U.S. dollars) in Spain last year, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Tuesday.

Rajoy made this statements during his speech at the Spain Global Tourism Form, currently being held in Madrid as a part of the International Tourism Fair (FITUR), which opens its doors on Wednesday.

According to Rajoy, the figure meant a 6.5 percent increase in comparison with 2013 and it is in line with the large number of international tourists arriving in Spain in 2014. The country received 64.99 million international tourists, breaking a record high.

Average spending per tourist stood at 971 euros, which meant a 0.6 percent fall in comparison with 2013, while the average daily sending stood at 110 euros, 0.3 percent more than a year earlier.

Rajoy said that tourism was the flagship of Spain's economy and highlighted that every year the number of foreign tourists is increasing along with the amount of money they spend.

The British spent the largest amount in 2014, a total of 12. 746 billion euros. They were followed by the Germans and French who spent a total of 10.024 billion euros and 6.555 billion euros respectively.

Foreign tourists spent the largest amount of money in the northeastern region of Catalonia with a total of 15.100 billion euros, 6.7 percent more than a year earlier.

Catalonia was followed by the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands where international tourists spent 12.444 billion euros and 10.380 billion euros respectively. (1 euro = 1.13 U.S. dollars)