Tourism alive and well.

The Spanish tourism sector is having a banner year. Aided, we imagine, by societal tensions in various countries on the south shore of the Mediterranean, the INE reports that the number of nights stayed over August in hotels by foreigners was 16 percent higher than 2007. The actual number of guests greater by 14 percent. Domestic tourism, probably assisted by the severe recession taking place in the country as vacationers stay close to home, is also at record levels by both counts. The months prior over 2011 are also at maxima for all categories.

The effect on Spain's balance of trade and current account is notable. The Banco de España reports that, through June, the trade surplus in services through June is 28 percent greater than for the corresponding period in 2010. It's worth noting though that the trade deficit in goods was also reduced by 8 percent over the first half of the year on higher levels of both exports and imports. The current account deficit has been reduced by a further 11 percent over the period.

Readers should note that the graph states the reference year as 2001. It's January 2006 in real life. We might fix it when we get a moment.

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