Spain's tourism sector expects slowdown in summer sales

MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's tourism industry expects growth in summer sales to slow sharply as uncertainty over U.S. tariff negotiations threatens to curb global consumer spending, industry group Exceltur said on Thursday, though it still forecast record visitor numbers.

The group expects revenues of hotels, airlines, restaurants, and other tourism-related businesses to grow 2.7% year-on-year in the third quarter, the high season for tourism in the world's second most-visited country, against 6.3% registered in the same period of 2024.

In the second quarter, sales rose 4.5%.

The group projected fewer arrivals from Germany and France. International arrivals from the United Kingdom, the U.S., Japan, and China are still expected to grow, if at a slower pace, it estimated.

Exceltur Vice President Oscar Perelli told a news conference in Madrid there had been a slowdown in tourism from the U.S. since the end of 2024 due to a shift in exchange rates, which he expects to continue through this year.

"At the same time, we are seeing an acceleration in the redistribution of travel to Europe, as Europeans prefer to stay and travel within Europe, and Asians are looking for alternative destinations to the United States," he said.

Exceltur also revised its full-year estimate for tourism activity to 3.3% growth from 4% projected earlier this year, still outperforming a projected 2.4% expansion of the Spanish economy.

"At the beginning of the year, we thought it would be a very good year. Now, we believe it will be a good year," Perelli said.

"The confidence of tourism business owners has been affected by the scenario of uncertainty", he added.

The World Travel and Tourism Council, which represents the travel industry's private sector, expects a record-breaking 100 million visitors in 2025. Exceltur estimates all tourism revenues will account for some 13.2% of Spain's gross domestic product this year.

(Reporting by Corina Pons; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Jan Harvey)