Barcelona is one of the preferred cities by international travelers
We have sun, beach, good gastronomy, national parks that take your breath away, monuments that are among those preferred by all mankind, picturesque villages, art in abundance... In Spain we have it all, and it seems that the whole world knows.
At least, that is what is revealed in the International Tourism Highlights report of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which indicates that Spain is the second most attractive country for travelers from all over the world, with 83 million visitors last year . Above we only have France, with 89, and the United States is in third place, with 80.
These States have hardly seen their percentage of tourists change in 2018, but one of those that has sneaked into the top ten has done so with a spectacular entry. Is about Turkey , which reaches position number six, with an increase of 22% over the previous year. On the other hand, the only one registering negative growth is United Kingdom, which has lost 4% of its visitors, remaining in tenth place.
Spain is also the second country in the world that pockets the most money from the tourism industry. Specifically, 74,000 million dollars -about 67,000 million euros-. Interestingly, France is not the country that is above us, but the United States, with a much higher profit that reaches 214,000 million dollars -about 194,000 million euros-.
The Alhambra, a great attraction for foreign tourists
The third is France, with 67,000 million dollars, and the fourth, Thailand, with 64,000, despite being the ninth country preferred by tourists, with 38 million of them during 2018. Of course, the country with the highest income per tourist is Luxembourg, followed by Australia , which earns around 4,400 euros per international arrival.
Next, we break down the ten countries that received the most tourists in 2018 (gathering 40% of all international travelers) and those that earned the most money thanks to them (gathering together the 50% of the total profit for tourism in the world).
THE TEN COUNTRIES THAT RECEIVED THE MOST TOURISTS IN 2018
France: 89 million
Spain: 83 million
United States: 80 million
China: 63 million
Italy: 62 million
Turkey: 46 million
Mexico: 41 million
Germany: 39 million
Thailand: 38 million
UK: 36 million
THE TEN COUNTRIES THAT MADE THE MOST MONEY FROM TOURISM IN 2018
United States: 214 million dollars
Spain: 74 million dollars
France: $67 million
Thailand: $63 million
UK: $52 million
Italy: $49 million
Australia: $45 million
Germany: $43 million
Japan: $41 million
China: $40 million