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The best tourist destination is in Spain.
Spain is set to be the big winner for the summer 2006 season, according to tour operators and tourism officials. German bookings for Majorca, the Canary Islands and the Spanish mainland are soaring as consumers switch from eastern Mediterranean destinations. Growth rates are hitting double digits, leading some travel bosses to warn about a possible capacity shortage on Majorca this summer. Catalonia, the largest regional destination, enjoyed strong growth with a 12.3 per cent jump to 14 million international holidaymakers. The biggest rises were from France (17.6 per cent) and the UK (8 per cent). Elsewhere, the Balearic Islands saw a 1 per cent rise to 9.6 million tourists, while the Canary Islands fell 1.4 per cent to 9.5 million holidaymakers. International arrivals rose six per cent to 55.6 million, the strongest annual increase since 1999. Spain's revenues from tourism increased 3.8 per cent to 35.6 billion euros over the first 11 months of last year. Great Britain retained its position as the largest outbound market for Spain in 2005 with a 3.1 per cent rise to reach a total of 16.1 million tourists. A clear trend was higher demand for mainland destinations such as Andalusia (up 11 per cent) and Catalonia in preference to the Balearics and the Canaries. The two island groups recorded drops of 4.2 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively.
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