Valencia sees highest increase in foreign tourists

THE Valencia Region has seen Spain’s highest increase in international tourist arrivals in the first eight months of the year.

The Frontier Tourist Movement Survey (Frontur) highlighted an increase of 11.8 per cent in the region, to 4.3 million tourists, representing 9.9 per cent of all arrivals.

Among the autonomous communities, Catalonia, with a rise of 6.5 per cent, saw the largest percentage of foreign visitors, 26.1 per cent of the total arrivals, followed by the Balearic Islands, with an increase of 8.3 per cent and 19.7 per cent of the total arrivals through August. In the same month, Murcia saw an increase in foreign travellers of 20.7 per cent.

Spain received 42.3 million foreign tourists in the first eight months of the year, representing an increase of 4.5 per cent over the same period last year, with the UK remaining the market leader despite a marked increase in the number of Nordic visitors, up 18.1 per cent in August.