Mariano Rajoy argues that tourism is "a key industry" representing 10% of GDP

Lleida Tourism Parador, Lleida

Mariano Rajoy, after underlining that "Spain is renowned as a quality tourist destination", recalled that, in 2016, we were visited by more than 75 million tourists and that all the forecasts point to this figure rising by a further 9% this year.

He pointed out that in the first five months of this year, 28 million inbound tourists have visited Spain, in other words, 11.6% more than last year. "All of this allows us to say that this will be a good summer", he stated.

The President of the Government also said that "tourist spending is good news for us"; in 2016, this grew by 9% and "a further 10% growth is forecast for this summer".

Tourism for Spain and for Catalonia

Pool Moncloa / Diego CrespoOn this issue, Mariano Rajoy recalled that tourism represents 10% of GDP and employs more than 2 million people. This is an industry, he added, that "we must look after" because "it represents the best of our image and brings the best out of us". "People not only come and visit Spain, they also want to come back again", argued the President of the Government.

Mariano Rajoy also highlighted the very positive tourism figures for Catalonia, which in 2016, "once again headed up the ranking as the favourite tourist destination for foreigners, with close on 18 million inbound tourists, or 23.8% of the total"

Tourism Paradores

Mariano Rajoy claimed that the government decided to commit to Tourism Paradores because they constitute "a clear commitment" and they are "a paradigm of sustainable, quality commitment that is closely associated" with the local environment.

He also pointed out that "a parador is important for any city" because it positively affects both growth and job creation, He added that, a parador is synonymous with hospitality, well-being and excellence in any language across the globe".

In this regard, the President of the Government recalled that Paradores de Turismo, an organisation that dates back 90 years, is "one of the most recognised and prestigious tourist brands in the world", when referring to Spain and about tourism quality and unique locations".

Roser Convent

Pool Moncloa / Diego CrespoMariano Rajoy explained that the aim of the Paradores is to also "give new life to remarkable buildings tied to our history, saving them on many occasions from falling into disrepair and converting them into standards of prosperity in many towns". This is what has happened with the building that now houses the new Lleida Tourism Parador, the former Roser Convent.

President of the Government Rajoy pointed out that this former Dominican convent, has borne "witness to important chapters in our history in the Middle Ages and in the War of Spanish Succession". It is now "definitively" restored and "aspires to becoming a benchmark now and in its future" since it will serve to strengthen "the image of Lleida as an attractive and quality inland tourist destination".

Collaboration and understanding

The President of the Government underlined that the new Lleida Tourism Parador is the "result of collaboration and understanding between different tiers of government". For that reason, it has become "a vivid image of how much and how well we can do things together, of how we can help and support one another and of how this can benefit us all".

According to Mariano Rajoy, "the best commitments" are those which, far from drawing us apart, "find a way of bringing us closer together". That is why the future, instead of moving down "the path of a breakaway, which leads nowhere", must follow "the path of common sense and empathy" because "those are the only paths that can take us all so much further".

During the inauguration of the Parador, Ángel Ros, Mayor of Lleida, who spoke before Mariano Rajoy, thanked everyone for the efforts made so that this city can now have a new tourism establishment. The province of Lleida now has four of the eight Tourism Paradores in Catalonia.