Airlines in Spain are close to achieving 100% of Pre-COVID passenger levels, the Ministry of Tourism has announced. Many popular holiday destinations across Spain are quickly recovering from the pandemic, and its forecast that 2023 will be another booming year for tourism.
Booming figures
According to Turespana, the agency for tourism in Spain, 55.8% of all flights inbound in January 2023 were operated by a low-cost airline such as Ryanair, easyJet, Vueling etc. According to the same source, 44.2% arrived in Spain by traditional, full-service airlines. These figures are unsurprising when looking at the European airline industry. People like flying low-cost carriers, and it's visible here.
When looking at the breakdown by country, the United Kingdom had the most tourists in Spain in the same period of 2023. 18.2% of all international arrivals into Spain came from the United Kingdom. This was closely followed by Germany, which also has a long tradition of tourists jetting off to Spain. 11.8% of arrivals came from Germany. In third place, Italy accounted for 10.2%.
Undoubtedly, tourism in Spain is massive not only for its economy but also for the survival of airlines. Seeing aviation and tourism return to pre-pandemic levels is a great sign for things to come.
Commenting on the figures, the Minister for Tourism in Spain, Mr Reyes Maroto said:
“From the Government, we are deploying a very ambitious tourism policy to modernize our tourism model that is already having its results in terms of quality, sustainability and digitization of destinations and companies in the sector, which will help maintain our international leadership.”
The Canary Islands, which is the location for destinations such as Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, were the most popular destinations for tourists coming from the United Kingdom and Germany. The Canary Islands offer a stunning landscape which attracts tourists from all over the world. Madrid and Catalonia were also top destinations too. Around 30% of all visitors to Spain in January 2023 went to Madrid, 23% traveled to the Canary Islands, and 20% visited Catalonia.
Madrid, Spain's capital, also saw the highest arrivals of traditional, full-service airlines, with 56% of airlines flying into Madrid Barajas Airport. On the other hand, Catalonia saw the highest number of low-cost airline arrivals, with 26.3% of all arrivals being low-cost airlines.
Airlines looking forward
The figures shown here forecast a bright and sunny Summer season in Europe. Airlines continent-wide are gearing up for the biggest season yet. Low-cost airlines are adding new routes to their network. From Cork in Ireland, Ryanair has announced a new route to Seville.
In January of 2023, the same period Spain saw its boost in passenger volumes, Ryanair recorded 11.8 million passengers. In January 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, the same airline recorded only 1.3 million.
The IAG-owned airline Iberia, whose sister airlines include British Airways and Aer Lingus, among others, is presumably welcoming this back to normality. Through the pandemic, times were tough for the entire IAG Group - not just Iberia.
What do you think about the increase in passenger numbers? Have you travelled to Spain in January 2023? Let us know in the comment section.
Source: SchengenVisaInfo.com