According to figures from the National Statistics Institute, Spain saw some 19 million international tourists over the 1st 11 months of the year, around 78% fewer than in the same period of 2019.

It also follows news that the number of Spaniards registered as jobless jumped towards four million in December, closing the year at a more than four year high.

Joaquin Perez Ray, the secretary of state for employment, is describing the data is bad but also full of anomalies.

He said that it should return during 2021 to quote numbers similar to what we had before the pandemic provided the global health crisis did not worsen.

Perez Ray estimated that the unemployment rate stood below 16% at the end of last year.