The last "life-saving straw" of Spain's tourism industry was cut.

The new crown epidemic has pressed the "pause button" on the global tourism industry. As the only "safe destination" in Spain recognized by the European Union-the Canary Islands has become the only life-saving straw for the country's tourism industry, but recently, it has been stuck in the second round. The epidemic, the United Kingdom, Germany and other countries have successively introduced travel bans, making the situation of the Spanish tourism market worse.

Canary Islands become the last hope of Spain's tourism industry

The Spanish "Le Monde" reported that Germany and the United Kingdom are the largest source of tourists in the Canary Islands. Last year, half of the tourists here were British. Affected by the new round of the epidemic, the two countries have successively promulgated bans in recent days. Although the ban is less restrictive than in March, it still stipulates that people can only go out when necessary. This means that although the EU does not close its borders, tourism has become a mirage. The Canary Islands lost the last chance of recovery during the tourist season.

In mid-October, the United Kingdom and Germany listed the Canary Islands as a "safe place to travel." People who travel from here no longer need to be isolated (but nucleic acid tests are required before coming). In the week, hotel reservations in the Canary Islands The volume has increased by 5 times compared with the previous few days. However, in just one week, many European countries have successively issued bans. The current round of blockade is expected to be December 1, and follow-up measures will depend on the development of the epidemic.

At present, the European Union divides the European continent into three regions according to regions, red high-risk areas, yellow medium-risk areas, and green low-risk areas. The European Union originally set up the system to promote mobility in various regions, and now this "travel map" is almost "red". The Canary Islands is the only green area in Spain.

Spain's tourism industry has lost more than 55 billion euros and lost 50 million overseas tourists

Spain is a major tourist country. In addition to the Canary Islands, many inland cities are also popular among tourists. However, Spain lost most of its tourists this year. Take the tourist season as an example. In September, a total of 1.1 million international tourists were received, which was 87% lower than the same period last year (8.8 million); the figure in August was 2.4 million, which was more than 8 million less than the same period last year. Last year, Spain received 67 million overseas tourists. So far, only 16.7 million foreigners have visited, and Spain has lost more than 50 million tourists.

When the number of tourists decreases, consumption expenditure also decreases. Last year, overseas tourists spent 73.5 billion euros in Spain, and this year (as of the end of September) only 17.1 billion euros, 55 billion euros less than last year.

With only two months left this year, the tourism market is filled with pessimism. In September, 380,000 French people visited the West, a decrease of 60% compared with the same period last year; there were only 160,000 British people who came to the West that month, which was a 90% decrease from last year. Now France has surpassed the United Kingdom to become the largest source country in Spain. In third place are German tourists. There were 90,000 tourists in September, 92% less than last year.

Among the tourists who visited this year, the most popular regions were Catalonia, Canary Islands and Valencia.