Tourists want more Spanish gastronomy and these figures prove it
6 March, 2024Spending on provision by international tourists arriving in Spain in 2023 rose to 17,000 million euros, i.e. 25% more than the figure before the pandemic and at the same time a notable success of Spanish gastronomy among visitors. And this in a year in which the slump in tourism caused by the period of health restrictions has finally been overcome.
So says the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, at the inauguration in Madrid of the HIP Horeca Professional Expo 2024 trade fair, when he emphasised that the government department he heads considers gastronomy to be a “strategic priority”, as he stated at the start of the event’s eighth edition.
For Hereu, gastronomy is important “not only for its enormous value as a tourist attraction but also for its capacity to fight against the depopulation of the territory and the demographic challenge, and its potential to project Spain internationally”, the minister remarked during the most important event for the hotel, restaurant and catering sectors.