UniversalPayentity specialized in payment solutions, has analyzed the billing data through card of Spanish businesses linked to tourism, both hotel and restaurant, making a comparison with the data of the two previous years. If in 2021 a strong increase was observed as a result of the return to “normality” after the pandemic, this year there has been a setback in growth in almost all the autonomous communities derived from the fall in consumption caused by the price escalation.
The impressive rise of 2021, where the volume of turnover at the national level grew by 73% compared to the previous year, has been stopped in its tracks. Although the figures are still positive, this year the growth has been a barely perceptible 1%.
The only communities that have increased their turnover this summer have been Madrid (33%), Canary Islands (16%), Catalonia (6%) and Extremadura (6%). The rest of the regions have remained stable with respect to the data of the previous year or have suffered sharp drops.
Of course, despite the fall in national consumption, there has been a strong increase in foreign spending, where the increase in the average billing volume has been 40%. It is noteworthy that the highest growth peaks have occurred in the northern part of the country, a trend encouraged by climate change that, it seems, is here to stay.
Foreigners show interest in northern Spain
Despite the slowdown in the tourism sector at the national level, the figures for billing with foreign cards are encouraging and reflect a growing interest in destinations in the north of Spain.
Galicia has tripled the results of last year and the Basque Country has doubled them. Cantabria (62%), Navarra (19%) and Asturias (18%) also stand out among the autonomous communities where the greatest increase in transactions with currency conversion has been registered.
It is possible that this new paradigm in the northern area has also been driven by the extension of the Xacobeo year. In April of this same year it was already announced that 2022 would be a great year for the Camino de Santiago, confirming a record in the number of pilgrims who visit our country. Many of them, from outside the European Union.
On the other hand, the drop in foreign turnover in destinations of historical attraction for these tourists, especially British and Nordic, is striking, as is the case of Murcia (-95%), the Balearic Islands (-58%) or the Valencian Community ( -2. 3%). Others, such as Andalusia (3%), have maintained a slight growth, although it continues to lead the ranking of favorite destinations for international travellers, together with the Canary Islands, where the turnover of the previous year has doubled.
July and August continue to be the preferred months at the national level
In June (-19%) and September (-36%), the turnover volume in the tourism sector at the national level has decreased compared to 2021. Something that contrasts with the positive data of the previous year, where it doubled in both months if we compare it with the results of 2020. Of course, the traditional periods at the holiday level maintain the upward trend, in July there was a growth of 30% and in August of 12%.
