Spain: A bit of good economic news
Germany may have a great economy but Spain has great beaches as this German tourist in Mallorca would probably be willing to admit.
Despite the trouble and strife around the world last year Spain's tourism industry recorded very solid growth. In fact it is because of the trouble and strife that Spain's tourist numbers went up by 8.1 percent.
The political unrest across North Africa meant that European sun worshippers forsook Tunisian and Egyptian beaches for Spanish ones.
El Pais reports that the Canary Islands saw an 18.4 percent increase in visitors followed by the Balearics (Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza) with a 10 percent jump.
The total value to Spanish GDP of tourism in 2011 was 53 billion euros (67.6 billion).
Despite the rise in tourist visits the main problem of the Spanish economy remains unemployment.