Growth of Tourism in Spain

Tourism has made a major contribution to Spain's spectacular economic growth. Spain is the destination of about 10 percent of the world's international tourists. In 1987 this amounted to more than 50 million, outnumbering the permanent population. Many foreigners spend winters in Spain's warmer climates. Tourism received a boost in the early 1990s, when the Summer Olympic Games were held in Barcelona and a world's fair attracted many thousands to Seville during the summer of 1992.