Editing Bilbao (section)

=== Tourism ===
[[File:Bilbao - Ria.jpg|thumb|Guggenheim Museum Bilbao]]
The first notion of Bilbao as a tourist destination came with the inauguration of the railway between Bilbao and the coastal neighbourhood of [[Las Arenas]], in the municipality of [[Getxo]] in 1872. The connection made Bilbao a minor beach destination.<ref>Montero, Manuel (2005). p. 97.</ref>

The real tourist surge though would come much later with the inauguration of the [[Guggenheim Museum Bilbao]] in 1997. Thereafter tourist arrivals registered a continued upward trend, reaching over 932,000 visitors in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eldiario.es/norte/euskadi/Bilbao-recibe-turistas-visitantes-consecutivo_0_860564469.html|title=Bilbao recibe 932.771 turistas en 2018 y bate el récord de visitantes por quinto año consecutivo|agency=Europa Press|website=eldiario.es|date=24 January 2019|language=es|access-date=2019-05-24|archive-date=24 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524091928/https://www.eldiario.es/norte/euskadi/Bilbao-recibe-turistas-visitantes-consecutivo_0_860564469.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The trend was exponential considering that in 1995, Bilbao only counted 25,000 tourists.<ref name="tourism">{{cite web | url = http://www.elcorreo.com/vizcaya/v/20101001/vizcaya/bilbao-solo-ciudad-paso-20101001.html | title = Bilbao ya no es sólo una ciudad de paso | access-date = 18 October 2010 | date = 1 October 2010 | editor = El Correo| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101007122040/http://www.elcorreo.com/vizcaya/v/20101001/vizcaya/bilbao-solo-ciudad-paso-20101001.html| archive-date= 7 October 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> Bilbao also hosts 31% of the total [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]] visitors, being the top destination of this autonomous community, outranking [[San Sebastián]].<ref name="tourism"/> The majority of tourists are domestic visitors, coming from [[Madrid]] and [[Catalonia]]. International travellers are predominantly French, crossing the border just to the east. The others arrive from the [[United Kingdom]], [[Germany]], and [[Italy]].<ref name="tourism"/> Tourism generates about €300 million yearly for the Biscayan GDP.<ref name="tourism"/> Bilbao also draws [[business tourism]], having been equipped with facilities like the [[Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall]], and the [[Bilbao Exhibition Centre]], in nearby [[Barakaldo]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.periodistasvascos.com/imagenes/cap_7.pdf |title=En posición privilegiada |author=Etxebarria, Elvira |work=Bilbao 700 |page=236 |access-date=16 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724095050/http://www.periodistasvascos.com/imagenes/cap_7.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2008  }}</ref>