MADRID: Consumers should buy airline tickets as soon as possible to avoid the risk of higher fares caused by rising oil prices triggered by the war in Iran, Spain's industry and tourism minister said.
After welcoming a record 97 million tourists last year, 3.5% more than in 2024, Spain could maintain a similar pace of growth this year, Industry and Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu said.
However, higher fuel costs threaten to push up airfares and weigh on demand, he warned in an interview published on Monday with Spanish newspaper Expansion.
"What we're recommending is that people buy their tickets now because it's true that (airlines) are currently using kerosene that was purchased some time ago, and therefore there's an element of price fluctuations involved," Hereu said.
"...It's already clear that prices have risen and this could affect demand," he said, adding that Spanish and European authorities were taking measures to prevent fuel shortages.
Disruption to global oil supplies has pushed prices up by around 50% since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28.
Rising oil prices have added more than $100 to the price of long-haul flights from Europe, a cost likely to trigger higher ticket prices, campaign group Transport & Environment said last week.
Hereu said that Spain, the euro zone's fourth largest economy, had a larger stock of kerosene and higher production capacity than other countries.
But he warned: "If the countries that send tourists to Spain had problems, we would have them too."
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