Tourism rates set new record, up 5.1 percent from last year

Spain welcomed a total of 22.5 million foreign tourists between January and May in 2015, representing a 5.1 percent increase from the same period last year and setting a new record, according to the Spanish Tourism Ministry.
May also marked a new high record for the number of international, long-distance visitors with 6.5 million arrivals, up 6.8 percent from May 2014.
In the first five months of 2015, the largest increase occurred among tourists from France, with 3.7 million arrivals, 8.2 percent more than the same period last year. The United Kingdom remained the most significant tourist exporter, with nearly 5 million tourists travelling to Spain from January to May, up 3.3 percent.
Italy and the United States also showed outstanding increases, 11.3 percent and 13.2 percent respectively, while in contrast, Russian tourist arrivals fell by 28.7 percent.
Growing tourism rates from January to May were present in every single region of the country, topped by Madrid with 11.7 percent.