More than double the number of tourists visited Spain in June this year compared to the same month in 2021, and they spent nearly three times as much, according to data from the National Statistics Institute.

Around 7.5 million visitors were registered in June, who spent close to €9 billion, as the country moves closer to pre-pandemic levels within Spain’s largest and most important sector.

Before the pandemic stopped travel in 2020, Spain welcomed 38.2 million tourists in 2019, with 8.8 million recorded in June, Reuters news agency reports.

"In these six months (of 2022) we have already exceeded 30 million international tourists, which represents 80% of the pre-pandemic volume, but in terms of expenses we are already at 90% of pre-pandemic levels," Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto stated.

"If the trend continues, we will clearly be at pre-pandemic levels (at the end of the year)," she said.

The Spanish government forecasts tourist arrivals to hit 90% of pre-pandemic numbers over the summer season, as residents of northern Europe rebuff inflation woes and book more trips than recorded in 2019, the Reuters report adds.

Back in June, Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdes stated: "Inflation is so far not dampening peak summer season demand.”

He remained confident Spain’s tourism industry will enjoy a season similar to strong years before the Covid crisis: "It is a solid recovery in difficult conditions," he said.

Bookings from Sweden were almost 79% higher than the summer preceding the pandemic. Reservations from Denmark were 46% higher, and a greater number of Britons and Germans are travelling to Spain this summer compared to 2019. However, the number of visitors to Spain from the United States was 4% lower.