Spain reliant on domestic visitors

THE economic crisis means Spanish hotels will have more domestic than foreign tourists this summer for the first time in decades, an industry official predicts.

In the 1980s an estimated 70% of tourists were foreigners, said Roman Estalella, head of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation.

This year, “Spaniards will spend less on travel by staying” within the country, while the number of overseas tourists will be down by 8% as the economic crisis hits both Spain itself and its source markets for tourism.