Impact analysis of the economic crisis on Tourism in Spain

Tourism, as a social and economic phenomenon, has experienced significant growth since the mid-20th century due to advancements in transportation, globalization, and increased disposable income among the middle class in many countries. Even some countries ,such as China,Russia and Cuba ,saw beneficial opportunities in tourism activities that they opened their frontiers simultaneously in late 1970s and after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989.

By 2018, the World Tourism Organization reported a record of 1.4 thousand millions international tourist arrivals globally, two years ahead of its own long-term forecasts, marking a 6% increase from the previous year as shown in the next Figure.

On one hand, in 2019 the world population was around 7743 thousand millions, the graphic above shows that near 19% of the total population participated in tourism activities. This illustrates the size of the WorldWide tourism industry . On the other hand, the graphic also shows clearly the exponential growth of this market experimenting an augmentation over 40% in the number of international tourists from 2011 to 2019. One possible explanation of this growth, is that currently, most countries are convinced of the benefits of developping their tourism industries.

Tourism has a significant impact on both local and global economies as it generates incomes , creates jobs and Contribute to the GDP of a country.

Recently, in the last years of the 21th century, the world economy faced some stong economic crisis. The most important ones are briefly described in the following paragraphs:

• The Great Recession was a severe worldwide economic crisis that took place from 2007 to 2009 triggered by a financial crisis in the United States. The crisis was precipitated by the collapse of the U.S. housing market and subsequent problems in the banking system, leading to significant declines in wealth and economic activity worldwide. It was the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression (1929).

• The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in late 2019 and spread globally throughout 2020 and beyond.Globally, economies entered severe recessions, characterized by significant contractions in GDP. Unemployment rates soared as businesses laid off workers or closed entirely.

In 2022 ,the Travel & Tourism sector contributed 7.6% to global GDP; an increase of 22% from 2021 and only 23% below 2019 levels . And it also created 22 million new jobs , representing a 7.9% increase on 2021, and only 11.4% below 2019.

We can see from the following figure , provided by World Travel and Tourism Council , The impact of the Tourism of The GDP and employment growth.

The graphic above illustrates the growth of the Tourism, as represented by the number of people working in this sector, growing from 250 millions in 2000 to around 330 millions in 2019. In this figure, we identify a small drop in 2009, caused by the 2008 financial crisis, and a big drop in the number of workers in the Tourism sector in 2020 explained by the pandemic crisis.

The visual also represents how the Travel and Tourism GDP growth had withdrawed simultaneously in 2009, representing the first crisis, and in 2020, representing the second crisis with a greater value of 50% decrease. But we see that the Economy GDP growth didnt drop as much as the T&T GDP . we can conclude that globally , most countries are independant of Tourism and have diversified industries such as France.

Some of these effects will be studied later on, in more details,with a collection of maps designed and produced to gather some in-depth analysis.

According to the 2019 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum, the most competitive tourist nations are those that have effectively harnessed their natural and cultural resources, and have infrastructure and policy frameworks that attract visitors and boost tourism.

the top five most competitive countries in tourism were :

• Spain: With its rich cultural history, beautiful landscapes, excellent infrastructure, and strong focus on tourism service, Spain has frequently topped the list.
• France: Known for its culture, cuisine, history, and landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, France attracts millions of visitors each year.
• Germany: It scores high in terms of cultural resources, infrastructure, and travel connectivity.
• Japan: Japan has made significant strides in tourism competitiveness, thanks to its unique cultural resources, excellent service, and strong business environment.
• United States: The US has diverse natural and cultural resources, strong air transport infrastructure, and several world-renowned cities and national parks that attract tourists.

In the early 2000s, Spain continued to attract increasing numbers of tourists, with 52.5 million of international tourist arrivals recorded in 2000. This figure increased to 83.7 million by 2019, making Spain the second most visited country globally. However, due to the pandemic crisis the number of visitors drop to 18,9 million in 2020. Afterwards, it was observed a small recoveriy to 31,3 million in 2021 followed by stron recovery to up to 71,6 million in 2022. So, Spain has still not recovered the 2019 pre-pandemy data.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The tourism sector contributed approximately 11-12% of Spain's GDP during this period.

The tourism sector is a crucial part of Spain's economy. In 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism directly contributed approximately 12% to Spain's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

In the years leading up to the Great Recession (2006-2008), tourism's direct contribution to Spain's GDP hovered around 5%. During the recession and its immediate aftermath (2009-2012).

The following figure represents how tourism plays a critical role in the economy in many countries as measured in terms of GDP percentage. The graphics clearly shows the relevance of tourism in the Spanish economy reaching over 11 percent in 2016 and raising up to 12 percent in 2019.

Tourism Revenues in Spain averaged 3473.83 EUR Million from 1993 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 9408.00 EUR Million in August of 2019 and a record low of 0.00 EUR Million in April of 2020.

Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were 74,03 EUR thousand millions, 5.7% of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of 595 EUR on their vacation in Spain.

The world GDP per capita is a measure used to represent the average economic output that each person would have if a country's total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was distributed evenly across its population.

In 2007-2009 the world economy suffered a strong crisis, The great Recession was followed by an even heavier crisis in 2019-2020, the COVID-19 crisis. Most countries have had very vigorous problems in their economies.

The first two maps represent the impacts caused by both crisis in the economy of the different countries worldide. A third map illustrates the long time evolution, in terms of GDP per capita, from 2005 to 2022.

In the following graphics (Swipe) the first map shows the impact of the Great Recession (2007 to 2009). The second map illustrates how the different countries recovered their economy in the succesive period of 2009-2013. This map shows a clear general pattern of economy recovery in most countries. However, some countries such as Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Japan had not recovered the pre-crisis values in 2013, showing a slower rythm of recovery than the rest of the countries.

In the graphics below (Swipe) ,the first map shows the impact of COVID19 (2019 to 2020). The second map illustrates how the different countries recovered their economy in the succesive period of 2020-2021. This map shows a clear general pattern of economy recovery in most countries. However, some countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Ausstria had a slower recovery than the rest of the countries.

The Unemployment rate is a key indicator of economic health and labor market conditions worldwide. The following maps illustrate the unemployment rate in the first year of the great recession in 2007 , it´s aftermath in 2014 and post the pandemic crisis in 2022.

The following different maps show the importance or relevance of tourism sector in each country worldwide. Other maps convey the impact of the economic crisis in the drop of the tourism industry as described by the number of arrivals or the decrease of the economy in terms of GDP percentage. The drop in the number of tourist measured by the number of arrivals using relative values (percentage change in the mobility). (These maps are strongly related to the project´s objectives and the research question that we stated in the beginning of the project.)

International meetings pertain to a sector of tourism often termed as "MICE Tourism" (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions). This form of tourism involves the gathering of individuals from different countries for professional, academic, or organizational purposes. The hosting of international meetings often requires advanced infrastructure, including convention centers, hotels, transportation, and entertainment facilities. This form of tourism not only boosts local economy but also enhances international collaboration and knowledge exchange.These international meetings are organized by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), a global community for the meetings industry.

The following dashboard gives the insight of the international meetings held in 2013,2014,2016 and 2019 and the first ranked cities by the ICCA.

The following different maps show the number of trips in Europe in 2019 and 2020. The number of trips is an indirect variable related to tourism as it can represent different reasons to enter a country , it can be medical , business related or political ...

The following different maps represents The GDP Recovery of Europe in 2019-2022 along side with each country´s Travel receipts and Expenditures in balance of payment in 2015 that relate to a nation's transactions with the rest of the world specifically linked to travel.

• Travel Receipt: represent the income a country earns from non-residents who are traveling within its borders. This includes what they spend on hotels, meals, sightseeing, entertainment, transportation within the country, and other travel-related services. It's essentially the money that foreign tourists spend in the country.
• Travel Expenditure: refers to the money spent by residents of a country who are traveling abroad. This is essentially what residents of a country spend when they are tourists in a foreign country.

The following illustration shows the Receipts of Europe countries in 2010 R(2010),2015 (R2015) and 2021 (R2021).Spain and France being the 1st in terms of receipts followed by Germany and Italy in the 2nd place and Turkey , Netherlands and Austria as 3rd.The receipts in 2015 of most countries is superior to 2010 and 2021 which are the post crisis years (The great recession and COVID19).As we can clearly see the expenditures in 2021 are the lowest and that proves how much COVID19 crisis had a bigger impact globally than the Great Recession.

The following illustration shows the expenditures of Europe countries in 2010 (E2010),2015 (E2015) and 2021 (E2021).Germany being the 1st in terms of expenditures followed by France,Italy and Spain in the 2nd place and Belgium , Netherlands and Switzerland as 3rd.The expenditure in 2015 of most countries is superior to 2010 and 2021 which are the post crisis years (The great recession and COVID19).As we can clearly see the expenditures in 2021 are the lowest and that proves how much COVID19 crisis had a bigger impact globally than the Great Recession.

The following maps represent of GDP per capita in power purchasing Standard (or Parity) in 2011, 2021 and the evolution in between as Volume indices of real expenditure per capita (in PPS_EU27=100)

GDP per capita is a measure of the total economic output of a country divided by its population. However, without adjusting for the differences in price levels between countries, it may not accurately reflect the relative living standards of the populations.

PPS, on the other hand, is an artificial currency unit. One PPS unit can buy the same amount of goods and services in all countries. By expressing the GDP per capita in PPS, it provides a clearer comparison of economies by eliminating the variations in general price levels, thus offering a better measure of the material welfare of households across different countries.

there are alot of reasons why Spain is one of the most famous tourism destinations , not only for the food or for the beaches but also for its culture and the fact that it has 15 world heritage cities. The following map tour will give us a glimpse about the chosen cities by UNESCO.

The 2nd worldwide crisis (COVID19) had a big impact of the Tourism market of Spain as the number of tourists dropped from 83.7 millions in 2019 to 18,9 millions in 2020. The land of Flamenco tried to recover its markets as it reached in 2022 ,71,6 millions of Tourists.

The following maps represent the tourism market size of Spain cities in terms of number of tourists between 2019-2022 and its evolution during the impact 2 .

The following illustration shows the number of tourists in Spanish cities between 2019 and 2022 with the percentage of Tourism in 2019 as Background.We can see that the number of Tourists in 2019 , which is pre pandemic, was the biggest in all the cities followed by a huge drawback in 2020 which refers to the impact. The cities had 2 recoveries :

• First one is in 2021 , which is a small recovery and variant from a city to another
• Second one is in 2022 , a bigger recovery and also variant from one city to another.

Even with after two years from the crisis, the cities didnt recover fully . The number of tourists in 2019 is still superior to the number of tourists in 2022.

The following illustration shows the Total Tourism expenditures between 2019 and 2022 a.We can see that the number of Tourists in 2019 with the percentage of Tourism in 2019 as Background. The biggest Tourism markets such as Cataluña , Baleares and Canarias have the biggest Total expenditures followed by medium Tourism markets such as Valencia , Madrid and Andaluçia.The Total expenditures had a remarkable drawback in 2020 which is the impact of COVID19 and it was almost equal to most cities. after the impact , the cities had 2 recovers :

• First one is in 2021 , which is a small recovery and variant from a city to another with bigger recovery of Expenditures in the big Tourism markets.
• Second one is in 2022 , a bigger recovery and also variant from one city to another depending on the size of the tourism market.

After two years from the crisis , some cities didnt recover fully .Yet others like Baleares , Valencia and Canarias exceeded the total expenditures of tourism they had in 2019 and that proves how strong and big are those tourism markets.

The following maps represent the Recovery of GDP level of Spanish cities in 4th trimestre of 2019 compared to the 1st trimester of 2023.

As a result of the project activities diferent conclusiones were obtained. These conclusions are structures in the next two groups:

1. The effects of COVID19 crisis were superior to the Great Recession.
2. Spanish economy is vulnerable and takes a good amount of time to recover from any major impact.
3. Spain is a hetergeneous country .

As geomatics embraces the digital transformation, WebMapping and Web GIS have emerged as pivotal tools, revolutionizing how spatial data is accessed, visualized, and analyzed online. We are going to present the advantages and disadvantages of integrating WebMapping and Web GIS into geomatic projects.

1. Web GIS platforms allow us to access geographic data and GIS functionalities anytime, anywhere, using a web browser. No specialized software installation is required.
2. Web maps offer a high level of interactivity, like panning, zooming, querying, and thematic visualization.
3. Multiple users can collaborate in real-time, sharing data, analyses, and insights.

for the disadvantages :

1. If users don't have a stable and fast internet connection, the functionality and speed of WebMapping and Web GIS can be severely limited.
2. For traditional GIS users, transitioning to a web-based platform might pose a learning challenge.
3. Web GIS platforms often provide a more generic set of tools that may not be tailored to specific geomatic needs. Customizing these tools might require additional investment.

The different maps and results were produced using available open data and the timeframe of the Master Project. However, this project could continue in different ways to identify more knowledges and findings related to the research topic. Following, I mention some possibilities:

• Identify more available and detailed data about the tourism in Spain from some Spanish Official Organization. This could enable a more detailed analysis considering all the provinces and most important cities.
• The segregate of tourism data by different type of tourism: rural, urban, cultural, sun and beaches, gastronomic, international congress, etc
• To include supplementary analysis workflows
• To include 3D Webmapping techniques

The World Tourism Organization is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives.

the official agency in Spain that collects statistics about demography, economy, and Spanish society

With 189 member countries, the World Bank Group is a unique global partnership fighting poverty worldwide through sustainable solutions.

Statista is a German online platform specialized in data gathering and visualization

The World Travel & Tourism Council is the global authority on the economic and social contribution of Travel & Tourism.

The global community and knowledge hub for the international association meetings industry.