Assessment of the Economic Impact of Covid-19 on the Tourism Sector in Spain

The aim of this study is to quantify the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector in Spain using a comprehensive approach that considers the entire sector rather than focusing on specific subsectors such as hospitality. Time series analysis based on daily sales recorded through VAT revenue collection is utilized, employing the specialized software JDemetra+. The methodology treats the data from the pandemic period as "missing data" and estimates the sales that would have occurred if the pandemic had not happened. This approach allows for an accurate comparison between the estimated sales and the actual recorded sales during the pandemic period. The results indicate that, over the period of the pandemic, sales would have been approximately 25% higher if the pandemic had not occurred, highlighting the strong economic impact it had on the tourism sector in Spain