In its third consecutive record year for tourism, Spain has once again set a record with nearly 64.6 million visitors registered in the first 11 months of 2015. December's figures are expected to top 3 million putting the full-year estimate at about 68 million tourists, said Tourism Minister Jose Manuel Soria in an article published in Yahoo Travel.
The previous record is at 64.9 million in 2014. The 11-month figure was up 4.8 percent in the same period last year. In 2013, Spain received a then-record 60.6 million tourists.
The Local reports that Brits lead the hoards of holidaymakers flocking to Spain. There are 1.6 million Brits visited in October alone, a quarter of all tourists. Next came the Germans, who made up 16 percent of all tourists who visited Spain, followed by the French at 15 percent.
Tourism represents 11 percent of Spain's economy and has improved in recent years due to a weak euro and security issues in competing Mediterranean beach resort nations like Tunisia and Egypt. The instability caused by Greece's debt crisis and migrant influx into Italy have also added to many tourists choosing Spain as a safe sunny alternative.
Located in Europe's Iberian Peninsula, Spain has 17 autonomous regions, each with its own geography and culture. The capital, Madrid, is home to the Royal Palace and singular Prado museum, housing works by European masters, and Segovia to the north has a fairy-tale medieval castle and Roman aqueduct. Catalonia's capital, Barcelona, is defined by Antoni Gaudí's quirky modernist architecture, including the Sagrada Família basilica.
From the capital to the costas, from the high Pyrenees to the Moorish cities of the south, there are genuinely surprising attractions at every turn, whether it's hip restaurants in the Basque country or the wild landscapes of the central plains or cutting-edge galleries in the industrial north.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
