SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, September 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The acting Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, Héctor Gómez, assessed this Friday the good response that Spanish tourism has given after the “shock” of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic difficulties derived from the invasion of Ukraine and anticipates that 2023 will close with “record numbers.”
In statements to journalists on the occasion of a visit to Tenerife, he highlighted that Spain received 10.1 million international tourists in July, 2.6% more than before the pandemic and with an improvement in overnight stays and spending at the destination, 16 % compared to July 2019.
According to the minister, these are indicators of an “extraordinary” evolution of tourism that will continue in September as a result of the forecast for airline seats, above those of the same month last year.
It has also influenced a “very important aspect”, specifically that 80% of jobs are permanent, which demonstrates the “stability” of the labor market in the sector, where temporary employment has fallen by 20%.
In his opinion, this “means” that both the labor reform and other measures that the Government has adopted “are giving very good results”, while he has detailed that tourism “pulls the economy” and is in the “line adequate” growth and recovery, with indicators “well above” the European average.
Gómez has also highlighted the “extraordinary behavior” of the Spanish business community because they characterize Spain as a “leading country” and the “most competitive in the world” in tourism issues, as recognized by the World Economic Forum.
Along these lines, he has said that 13% of Social Security contributors depend on tourism, which demonstrates the “very important weight” that this sector has within the economic recovery.
In the specific case of the Canary Islands, it has indicated that it will repeat as the second destination community in July, with improvement in tourist spending and overnight stays, and given the “very positive” data in airline seats for the remainder of the year, “everything seems to indicate that 2013 will be a record year.”
