Tourism triumph

IN 2022, 71.6 million international tourists visited Spain, spending €87.061 billion, up 86 per cent and 95 per cent, respectively, compared to 2019.

This means that Spain outperforms pre-pandemic data in terms of average spending and length of stay by international travellers.

The average stay of these travellers was 7.5 days in 2022, exceeding 7.1 days in 2019. The average spend of international tourists in Spain in 2022 was 10.5 per cent higher than in 2019. This is reflected in the data from the surveys on Tourist Movements at Borders (Frontur) and Tourist Expenditure

(Egatur), published by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

On Thursday, January 2, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, confirmed: “The data we know today confirms the strong recovery of the tourism sector in 2022. The expectations we had of recovering the majority of international tourists from before the pandemic have been fulfilled, but the most important thing is that spending and the average length of stay are growing, and this means an improvement in the quality and profitability of our sector.

“According to our forecasts, tourism will complete its recovery in 2023.”

The tin workshop is in in the town of Pedraza, in Segovia Province. The workshop itself has been running for over 55 years and was once a booming business with over 14 artisans. The Estaños de Pedraza workshop now only has three, who are all set to retire this year.

Founded by Paco Muñoz in the 1950s, he came to the town of Pedraza and fell in love with it, buying dilapidated real estate and began renovations.

Due to his investment both monetarily and physically, the mayor years later asked that he help prevent the brain drain of the town and to help build something that would make Pedraza worth visiting and living in again.

With only one restaurant in the area, Muñoz took on the challenge. He and a few apprentices went to Portugal to learn the true art and crafting of tin. Afterwards, they set up a workshop where they created over 400 original pieces, such as bowls, jugs, candlesticks and more.

Tin is a metal that is constantly fluctuating in price and because of that there were times when profit wasn’t made after the man hours and labour put behind it and is one of the contributing factors as to why Estaños de Pedraza is one of the last tin workshops in Spain.