GROWTH IN BALEARIC TOURIST SPENDING

TOTAL spending by tourists visiting the Balearics during the first six months of this year rose by 2.1 percent in respect of the same period in 2004, to reach 3'113 million euros. However, according to research into tourist spending made available yesterday by the Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Commerce, the average spending figure for each person during their stay on the Islands only grew by 0.3 percent to reach 839 euros. Hence, the daily average spending of tourists who came to the Balearics during the first six months of the year, stood at 89 euros, 2.7 percent more.
In June, total spending reached 1'130 million euros, 3.3 percent more than in the same month of the previous year, with an increase of 1.1 percent in average individual spending to 870 euros, 1.3 percent more. Across Spain as a whole, tourist spending reached 19'588 million euros during the first half of 2005, representing an increase of 2.1 percent, while the average figure for each person fell by 3.5 percent to 837 euros because of the fall in the average number of days visitors were spending in the country. According to the Ministry, the growth of the total accumulated spend is due principally to the increased number (by 5.8 percent) of tourists visiting the country during the first six months of the year. The daily average tourist spending was 86 euros between January and June this year, 3 percent more than for the same period in 2004. The report explained that there had been a larger number of tourists coming to Spain during the first six months who although they spent more on average on a daily basis, spent less time here. In June, the figure for total tourist spend was 4'242 million euros, 5.1 percent more than for the same month in 2004, while the average figure per person fell by 3.1 percent to settle at 830 euros. The total amount of money spent by tourists during the first six months of this year at key Spanish holiday destinations grew, except in the regions of Andalucia and the Canary Islands where there were slight reductions. But the average individual tourist spending fell in all Spanish regions, except in the Canaries, where it rose by 1.6 percent, to reach 971 euros per person during the period of stay, and in the Balearics, where it maintained its level with a 0.3 percent rise. Tourists from key client markets spent more in general in the first half of the year. Visitors from Italy, Germany and the Low Countries showed growth in spending of 11 percent, 3.3 percent and 2.7 percent respectively, while the British maintained the spending levels reflected in the same period of the previous year but with a slight reduction of 0.3 percent.