The recovery of tourism, first domestic from Spain and potentially later international, is placing the Balearics and the Canary Islands as the leaders in regional growth for both this year and next, while other regions will benefit from the foreseeable improvement in consumption, investment, and exports.
According to an analysis just published by BBVA Research, which indicates that the information available up to mid-summer reflects an advance in the Spanish economy at a higher rate than anticipated a few months ago, the Mediterranean coast will also be favoured by the recovery of household spending in Spain and, in particular, the rise of national tourism.
In the current scenario, thanks to the improvement in domestic tourism and despite their greater dependence on foreign tourism, the Balearic and Canary Islands continue to be the regions that will grow the most this year, by 8.3% and 6.9% respectively, although in part this is a reflection of the greater fall that they sustained last year due to their dependence on tourism
On the other hand, in other regions of Spain, it is domestic consumption that is accelerating the economy, with Andalusia and the Valencian Community, increasing by 6.7% in both cases, and Catalonia and Murcia, both with a forecast of 6.6%, which are growing quicker than the rest of Spain, due the rise of national tourism.
For 2022, BBVA Research report indicates that Spain's GDP growth forecast remains at 7% and that the boost from foreign tourism will continue to be the key to supporting double-digit GDP increases in the Balearic Islands, up to 11.6%, and the Canary Islands, up to 10.7%.
