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Record numbers of foreign tourists poured into Spain in 2013 to bake on sunny beaches but a new challenge lies ahead: luring them to holiday spots inland.

An unprecedented 60.4 million foreign tourists came to Spain last year, spending an estimated 45.1 billion euros ($61 billion), according to industry association Exceltur.

The visitors came mostly from Britain, Germany and France, with a jump in Russian tourist numbers, too, it said.

"It was a really good year which gives us a lot of hope after some difficult years," Exceltur president Amancio Lopez told AFP.

Indeed, tourism is pivotal to the Spanish economy, which emerged in the third quarter last year from a two-year recession, still dragged down by a 26-percent unemployment rate.

"We think tourism should be an engine to help improve the Spanish economy, as it always has been," Lopez said.

But Spain believes it can better exploit its attractions.

"Obviously, the most sought-after destinations are for sun and beach holidays whereas urban tourism has suffered a bit," Lopez said.

"I think Spain has a richness not only for sun and beach holidays but also for cultural, gastronomic and lifestyle holidays," he said.

Though industry estimates have yet to be confirmed by government numbers due Tuesday, Spain clearly enjoyed a boom in 2013.

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Spanish sun draws record tourist numbers