24/09/2013 00:00
TW
0

Palma.—Sunseekers spurning unrest in Egypt and Turkey flocked to Spain in record numbers last month, setting the country up for its best-ever year for visitors and giving a boost to the ailing economy.

"It is very likely that 2013 will be the best year historically for tourism," Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria told a news conference yesterday, adding that estimates for the fourth quarter were positive.

Tourism contributed over 5 percent of Spain’s economy or GDP in 2012 and provided around 900,000 jobs, according to Euromonitor, in a country where one in four is out of work, meaning a boost to tourist figures should be good news as other sectors flag.