If you could take a photo, it would be this: in recent years the number of tourists traveling to Spain to buy luxury items has increased faster than the number of backpackers wandering the streets. These are some of the data appearing in a report by the consulting firm McKinsey
Thus, the segment of high-end tourism in Spain from 2015 to 2022 grew at a rate of between 5% and 8%, doubling the rate of general tourism. This business already has a direct economic impact of more than 20,000 million euros, representing a contribution of close to 1.9% to the country’s GDP as a whole. In 2022 alone, high-end tourism attracted six million travelers with high purchasing power to Spain. Seven out of ten were foreigners and eight out of ten stayed overnight in luxury hotels.
This movement has intensified in the last six years. The improvement in the offer in Spain has contributed, from the increase in luxury hotels, which increased by 27% in this period, to the increasing diffusion of the number of Michelin star restaurants.
The renewed interest in leisure among this group, oriented towards the search for increasingly personalized experiences, as well as the increase in general tourist flows (20% more between 2015 and 2022) attracted by purchases of luxury goods have completed a very favorable outlook for this segment.
In a recent analysis by consulting firm Bain
While the debate on tourismophobia is far from over, especially in the most congested tourist centers, the economic data provided by McKinsey confirm that high-end tourism has a multiplier effect on the generation of wealth and added value in the Spanish economy. For example, the impact on culture, shopping and leisure, along with gastronomy and accommodation, is the most notable, multiplying by five, four and three, respectively, the economic contribution compared to what tourism generates. general up to a figure of between eight and ten billion euros.
In terms of transport and the real estate sector, these tourists multiply wealth by three and two, respectively, compared to traditional tourism, reaching a total impact of three million euros. As a Barcelona businessman from the nautical sector confessed, “if you don’t attract this wealthiest group, you won’t eliminate them: they will simply go elsewhere”.
Challenges remain. On the demand side, a decline in consumption is always possible given the persistence of geopolitical tensions, while on the supply side, companies have to maintain the level even if there are, as now, labor shortages .
As Rene Zimmer, managing director of Finca Cortesin Hotels, said
