Catalonia was the autonomous community that received the most tourists, followed by the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, mainly British and French.
Spain has set a new historical record for international tourists, confirming the excellent moment the sector is going through in our country. A total of 85.1 million tourists visited Spain last year, which is 18.7% more than last year and almost 2% above pre-pandemic levels.
These tourists spent more time in our country and therefore the level of spending also rose, registering another historical record.
The total expenditure made by non-resident tourists in Spain during the year 2023 rose by 24.7% to reach 108,662 million euros. If this figure is compared to 2019, total spending was 18.2% higher.
The British market contributed almost 17.3 million tourists to Spain last year, becoming the main source, followed by France, with 11.8 million tourists, and Germany, with 10.8 million tourists.
The autonomous communities that benefited most from these extraordinary historical data were Catalonia, which received 18 million tourists, 21.2% more than the previous year, as well as the Balearic and Canary Islands, which received around 14 million tourists, confirming that the Spanish ‘sun and beach’ continues to have a pull among foreign visitors.
The Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, highlighted that “in addition to the number of tourists exceeding 85 million for the first time in history”, spending at the destination, average spending and average stay are above 2019, “which shows that thanks to the Government’s policies, the tourism industry is pivoting towards quality and towards more sustainable and seasonally adjusted tourism.”
The average spending per traveler and spending per day offer hopeful and very optimistic figures. Each tourist has spent an average of 1,278 euros in Spain, 5.1% more than last year and 16.1% more than in 2019.
Spending per day also reflects this growth, reaching 175 euros, which is 8% more than in 2022 and 13.1% more than in 2019. Likewise, the average stay, a very important parameter to measure customer satisfaction the tourists who visit us and the quality of the Spanish tourism industry also increases to 7.3 days (in 2019 the average was 7.1 days).
THE BRITISH LEAD AND THE US THE MOST GROWING MARKET.
The statistical data on tourist movements at borders (Frontur) made public today by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) indicate that the arrival of tourists residing in the United Kingdom increased by 14.6% last year; that of those from France, 17%; and that of those who came from Germany, 10.6%.
It is also worth highlighting the extraordinary increases recorded by markets such as the United States, which grew by 38.7% to exceed 3.8 million visitors, as well as Switzerland, which grew by 21.3% and Italy, which grew by 21. ,2%.
By community, Catalonia was the autonomous community with the most tourists in 2023, followed by the Balearic and Canary Islands. 18 million tourists arrived in Catalonia (21.2% more than in 2022); to the Balearic Islands, 14.4 million (9.1% more); and to the Canary Islands, 13.9 million (13.1% more).
Another 12.2 million tourists arrived in Andalusia, almost 22% more than in 2022; to the Valencian Community, 10.4 million (21.8% more), and to Madrid, 7.8 million tourists; being the one with the greatest growth last year, with 29.6% more. The rest of the communities as a whole received 8.1 million visitors, which also represents increases of over 20%, specifically 23.8%.
TOURIST SPENDING IN SPAIN GROWS BY ALMOST 25%
In 2023, the total expenditure made by non-resident tourists in Spain was 108,662 million euros, which represented an increase of 24.7% compared to 2022. If this figure is compared with 2019, the total expenditure was 18.7%. 2% higher, according to the INE tourist spending survey.
The country that spent the most was the United Kingdom, with 19,947 million euros, 16.3% more than in 2023. They were followed by Germany (with 12,978 million and an increase of 12.6%) and France (with 9,767 million, a 19.7% more).
The United States is also one of the markets with the greatest increase in destination spending in 2023: more than 7.8 billion euros, which means 50% more compared to 2022 and 36.4% compared to 2019.
“Both American and Swiss citizens correspond to a profile of tourists with high purchasing power, which results in a significant increase in spending at the destination and therefore in the quality and excellence of our tourist offer,” said Minister Hereu. .
The autonomous communities that concentrated the highest total expenditure were Catalonia (with 20,878 million, 26.7% more than in 2022), the Canary Islands (with 20,334 million and an increase of 16.5%) and the Balearic Islands (with 17,722 million, 16.7% more than in 2022). .4% more than in 2022).
On a monthly level, December also broke all records. Spain received 5.2 million international tourists in December 2023, 26.2% more than in the same month of 2022. In relation to total spending, in December it increased by 35.4%, reaching 7,093 million euros.
