By IANS/EFE,
Madrid: Spain welcomed 7.9 million international tourists in August, up 5 percent from the same month in 2011 and a new one-month record, according to figures released Friday by the industry ministry.
In the two key months of the summer season, July and August, 15.6 million foreign tourists visited Spain.
Most responsible for the uptick were French tourists with an increase of 17.5 percent.
Catalonia, in northeastern Spain, was once again in August the tourist destination with the biggest monthly growth in the country, receiving 255,000 tourists more than a year ago, with the largest part of them coming from Britain and France.
Tourism is one of the chief drivers of the Spanish economy, contributing more than 10 percent to gross domestic product.