Spanish authorities intend to develop rural and «green» tourism, as said by the Minister of Sustainable Development in the tourism industry, Ricardo Blanco, during the FITUR tourism forum, which was held last week in Madrid.
The development of rural tourism in the country will help strengthen the position of Spain as a preferred tourist destination and break the direct dependence on beach tourism.
Despite the fact that the number of foreign tourists visiting the countryside stands at 20 percent, as compared to 5 percent in 2014, the government still intends to increase this figure to 35 percent in the future.
Spain is the most popular country for the number of foreign tourist visits after France.
Last year, 84 million foreign tourists visited it.