Spain closes “an extraordinary summer”: it receives 58 million tourists and spending reaches a high of 73.4 billion

08/05/2021 Bathers and tourists enjoy a day at La Malagueta beach, where today the news was announced that the United Kingdom keeps Spain in amber and does not place it in the red zone due to Covid on August 5, 2021 in Malaga (Andalusia) ECONOMY Álex Zea – Europa Press

Spanish tourism returns to its golden age. After the hard times experienced in the pandemic and the travel restrictions derived from the health crisis, the sector has already completed its recovery and, in the first eight months of this year, it has received a total of 57.7 million tourists, which which is almost 20% more than in 2022. And not only that: these tourists left around 73.4 billion euros in our country, 15% more than pre-pandemic records.

More tourists come to Spain and spend more. Our country registered another successful summer with the arrival in the month of August of a total of 10.1 million international tourists, 13.9% more than in August 2022, according to data published today by the National Institute of Statistics ( INE). Regarding tourist spending, last August it amounted to 13,529 million euros, which represents a growth of 19.9% ​​compared to the same month last year.

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For the acting Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, this means closing “an extraordinary summer” with data that confirms the recovery of the sector “which is not only the main engine of our economy, but a powerful industry that generates more and higher quality jobs; also wealth that permeates both society and territories.”

The head of Tourism has also highlighted “the magnificent figures of tourist arrivals from the United States and Switzerland, markets with great purchasing power whose nationals seek differentiating experiences in an increasingly competitive and innovative ecosystem, where Spain is a world leader.”

The average expenditure per tourist in the month of August stood at 1,343 euros, with an annual increase of 5.3%. For its part, average daily spending also increased by 6.7% compared to a year ago, up to 173 euros, according to the Tourist Expenditure Survey (Egatur) made public this Tuesday by the INE. The average duration of trips by international tourists is 7.7 days, a figure similar to that of August 2022. The majority length of stay among tourists in August is four to seven nights, with more than 4, 6 million in this range, and an annual increase of 13.9%.

The United Kingdom was the main tourist issuing country in August, with 2 million tourists, representing 20.1% of the total and an increase of 10% compared to August 2022, according to data from the Statistical Institute, which shows how France and Germany are the following countries with the most tourists who visited Spain. France contributes 1.9 million (17.9% more in annual rate) and Germany 1.2 million (5.8% more).

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Among the rest of the countries of residence, the strong year-on-year growth in tourists from the United States (29.5% more than last August), Switzerland (24.1%) and Ireland (22.4% growth) stands out. So far in 2023, 2.5 million Americans and 1.3 million Swiss tourists have arrived.

Tourists arriving from the rest of the American countries – excluding the United States – have also experienced significant growth, increasing by 40.9% year-on-year, and from the rest of the world, growing by 29.9%. Regarding their level of spending in August, the main countries were the United Kingdom (with 18.5% of total spending), France (9.6%) and Germany (11.6%). Spending by tourists residing in the United Kingdom increased by 15% in annual rate, that of those from France by 22.6% and that of those from Germany by 9.8%.

In the accumulated of the first eight months of 2023, the communities that received the most tourists were Catalonia (with almost 12.3 million and an increase of 24.1% compared to the same period in 2022), the Balearic Islands (with almost 10.5 million and an increase of 8.6%) and the Canary Islands (with more than 8.9 million, 14.5% more).

In the month of August, the Balearic Islands was the main destination for tourists, with 23.3% of the total. They are followed by Catalonia (21.1%) and Andalusia (14.3%), according to data from the Statistics of Tourist Movements in Borders (Frontur). 2.3 million tourists arrived in the Balearic Islands, 7.3% more than in August 2022. The main countries of residence for tourists from this community were the United Kingdom (26.3% of the total) and Germany (also 25 ,2%).

For its part, the number of tourists who visited Catalonia in August increased by 11.7% and exceeded 2.1 million. 26.5% come from France and 12.3% from the United Kingdom. The third main destination community by number of tourists was Andalusia, with more than 1.4 million and an annual increase of 11.2%. The United Kingdom was the main country of origin (with 20.8% of the total), followed by France (with 14%). In the rest of the communities, the number of tourists increased by 39.4% in the Community of Madrid, 19.7% in Valencia and 2.6% in the Canary Islands.

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