Madrid - Europe's economic crisis is hitting tourism in Spain, where overnight stays in hotels fell 16 per cent in the first quarter, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said Thursday.

In March, hotel stays declined by nearly 19 per cent from the corresponding period in 2008 to 15.6 million, the lowest in five years, despite hotel prices going down by 7 per cent.

The March results were, however, affected by the fact that Easter fell in March in 2008, increasing the number of tourists that year.

The decline was attributed mainly to economic problems in Britain and Germany, where most of Spain's foreign tourists come from. Domestic tourism has also declined.

Income from tourism, which contributes 11 per cent of Spain's gross domestic product (GDP), will shrink by 6.4 per cent this year, the tourism organization Exceltur predicted recently.

Until now, Spain has been the world's top tourism destination after France, receiving nearly 60 million foreign visitors annually. (dpa)