The Spanish economy grew by 5.0% in 2021, a large figure by historical standards but slightly below expectations, considering that GDP growth rates closer to 6.0% had been forecast at the beginning of the year. Several factors, both internal and external, have moderated the strength of this economic recovery. Among the internal factors is the somewhat slower than expected implementation of the NGEU programme, leading to a modest recovery in investment. External factors include higher energy costs and problems in global supply chains, both of which have been considerably aggravated by the war in Ukraine.
Search at CaixaBank Research
Search results
3077 results found for tourism report
House prices and the number of sales have surged since mid-last year in Spain, although there are significant geographical differences. In 2024, house prices grew more vigorously in the most expensive areas, thus widening the price gap between municipalities and regions, and this is causing some of the demand to begin to shift towards more affordable areas. At the provincial level, temperature could be a relevant factor: sales are growing more rapidly in the cooler regions of the Northwest of the peninsula, while the traditional tourist areas are experiencing a more gradual increase in demand. In addition, the sharp rise in house prices in the major cities is causing a shift in housing demand towards more affordable peripheral areas, where house prices are expected to experience rapid growth in 2025.
Judit is a Lead Economist in the Spanish Economics Department. PhD in Economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra and a Master in Economics from the same university, before joining CaixaBank she worked as an Economist in the Supervision and Regulation department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in the United States. Later she was Visiting Professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in the Business department. She has published her research in the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Banking and Finance and the Journal of Monetary Economics, among others. She is the coordinator of the Real Estate Sector Report and the Agrifood Sector Report.
Consumption in Spain is recovering faster than in previous crises. This is highlighted in the consumption tracker produced by CaixaBank Research based on internal data (available in Spanish: Monitor de Consumo). In the month of October, our consumption indicator was already 13% higher than in the same month in 2019.
Activity in the real estate market is recovering from the extraordinary slump experienced during the strictest months of lockdown. House sales picked up notably in the first few months of 2021 while new building permits continue to recover gradually. On the other hand, house prices have accentuated their downward trend observed since mid-2018. Nevertheless, their performance was surprisingly resilient during the pandemic, particularly the prices for new builds, and we expect house prices to continue posting moderate but steady gains in the coming quarters.
We analyse how tourists react to episodes of extreme heat in order to anticipate risks and opportunities for the tourism sector in the face of climate change, using anonymised internal data from foreign card payments on CaixaBank POS terminals.
The good performance of the foreign sector, especially services exports, largely explains the significant buoyancy that the Spanish economy is showing. Besides the usual strength of tourism, the strong growth of non-tourism services also stands out.
CaixaBank’s consumption indicators built using big data techniques and internal card spending data confirm the good dynamics of the catering sector in Spain and its close relationship with tourism.
Spain’s foreign sector has registered a surplus for the last 12 consecutive years. The strength of this success was proven last year, when the current account balance survived the energy crisis, which caused a sharp rise in the price of imported energy products and a marked deterioration in the trade balance.
Dining out in Spain shows a clear pattern of concentration towards the end of the week, with a higher average spend, suggesting an increasing trend towards more social and discretionary consumption, with seasonal variations.
The conflict in Ukraine has truncated forecasts that 2022 would be the year of the definitive revival of foreign exchanges, especially tourism.
Based on CaixaBank’s internal data regarding rent payments, we have constructed indicators for the recent trend in residential rental prices at a provincial level and for the largest municipalities. The results obtained show that there was already a generalised slowdown in rent growth before the pandemic arrived, and that the outbreak of the health crisis extended corrections to most provinces and municipalities, with decreases being especially pronounced among the lowest rents and in the most tourist-oriented municipalities.
The demand for housing among non-resident foreign buyers has grown sharply in recent years, especially after the pandemic, consolidating itself as one of the main drivers of Spain's real estate market. This boom is a response to several attractions which Spain has to offer, such as economic stability, the perception of security, good connectivity and a real estate offer that remains competitive. The profile of these buyers and the areas of interest have diversified, with an increase in the variety of nationalities and chosen locations: the influence of the United Kingdom has reduced, Poland is in the top 5 buyer nationalities, interest from the US and Latin America is on the rise, and new centres of interest are emerging in less traditional areas, such as Castellón, Asturias, Huelva and Córdoba.