Spain reports record tourist numbers in July

MADRID, Aug 22 :  Spain reported Friday record foreign visitor numbers in July, raising the prospect of a significant economic boost from the important summer tourism season. Foreign tourist numbers rose to an unprecedented 8.3 million in July, up 5.9 per cent from a year earlier, the tourism ministry said in a statement. "If the trend continues I think we will have a good August, too," Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria told Cope radio. Tourism is crucial to the slowly recovering yet jobs-scarce Spanish economy, accounting for about 11 per cent of all economic activity.     — AFP