Record 52.4 million inbound tourists visit Spain between January and September, up 7.4%

The United Kingdom (with 12.3 million tourists), France (with 8.6 million) and Germany (with 8.3 million) were the markets contributing the highest number of tourists in the first nine months of the year. All the main autonomous regions posted year-on-year growth, with the Canary Islands posting the highest growth at 11.4% followed by the Region of Madrid at 9.6% and Andalusia at 8%.

The month of September was also the best for this period since FRONTUR records began, with a year-on-year increase of 8.1% to a total of 7,023,167 inbound tourists.

The United Kingdom was the top emitting market to Spain with 1,774,776 inbound tourists, an increase of 5.5%. Germany was second with 1,228,860 tourists, an increase of 3%, and France was the third emitting market with 973,859 tourists, a strong increase of 20.2%.

Catalonia was the region visited by the highest number of tourists in September - 1,801,736, with an increase of 10.6%. This was followed by the Balearic Islands, with 1,696,632 tourists (up 3.1%) and Andalusia, with 959,113 tourists (up 7.5%).

Furthermore, Spain posted a record summer with 31 million inbound tourists between June and September, an increase of 6.9% on the same period of 2013.

The United Kingdom accounted for 25.3% of all inbound tourists in September, with 1,774,776 tourists coming from this market, i.e. 5.5% more, with the Canary Islands and Andalusia being their main destinations. A total of 12,358,931 British tourists visited Spain between January and September, representing an increase of 5.6%.

Germany accounted for 17.5% of all inbound tourists in September, with 1,228,860 tourists and an increase of 3%. 51% of German tourists visited the Balearic Islands, while the Region of Madrid posted a significant increase in the influx of German tourists with 19,000 more than the previous year. 8,341,527 German tourists visited Spain between January and September, an increase of 6.9%, which accounted for 15.9% of the total in the period.

France accounted for 13.9% of all inbound tourists in September, with 973,859 tourists and a significant increase of 20.2%. Their main destination autonomous region was Catalonia, but all other regions also posted growth from this emitting market. France was second for the period January-September with 8,607,402 tourists, accounting for 16.4% of the total, with an increase of 11.5%.

Italy, which posted the second-highest increase in September at 20.3%, was the fourth emitting market in the month, with 5.5% of the total and 389,354 tourists. This increase was especially felt in Catalonia and the Region of Madrid. In the first nine months of the year, 2,996,483 Italian tourists visited Spain, representing 5.7% of the total and the second-highest increase in the period at 14.5%.

A total of 386,944 tourists from the Nordic markets visited Spain in September, 5.5% of the total. This is a slight downturn of 0.8% that mainly affected Catalonia but also the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, albeit to a lesser extent. Between January and September, 3,853,284 Nordic tourists visited Spain, an increase of 6.3%, which accounted for 7.4% of the total.

With 275,831 tourists, the Netherlands posted a significant increase of 10.4% in the month, accounting for 3.9% of the total. From January to September, 2,216,936 Dutch tourists visited Spain, an increase of 5.1%, accounting for 4.2% of the total.

In September it is worth highlighting the strong growth of 29.5% posted by Portugal, with 189,944 Portuguese tourists accounting for 2.7% of the total.

Catalonia was the most popular autonomous region in September, with 1,801,736 inbound tourists and 25.7% of the total. The increase of 10.6% was the second-highest in the month. The majority of tourists visiting Catalonia were French, Asian and Italian. Between January and September, 13,494,791 tourists visited Catalonia - accounting for 25.7% of the total, representing an increase of 6.6%.

Andalusia was visited by 959,113 inbound tourists in September, an increase of 7.5%, representing 13.7% of the total. The tourists visiting Andalusia were mostly British and Asian. Tourists from the latter markets have been increasing their presence in Andalusia since May. In the first nine months of the year, 6,939,035 tourists visited Andalusia - an increase of 8%, accounting for 13.2% of the total in the period.

The Canary Islands was visited by 845,761 tourists in September, an increase of 7.5%, which represents12% of the total. The United Kingdom in particular but also France and Germany were the main emitting markets for this region. 8,363,317 tourists visited the Canary Islands in the nine-month period, accounting for16% of the total and the highest increase in the period at 11.4%.

The Region of Valencia was visited by 654,858 tourists in September, accounting for 9.3% of the total, with an increase of 2.9%. The majority of these tourists were French and Belgian. A total of 5,069,059 inbound tourists visited the Region of Valencia between January and September, an increase of 4.8% and 9.7% of the total.

As was the case in the previous month, the highest year-on-year growth in the month of 15.3% was posted by the Region of Madrid, which was the chosen destination for 433,096 tourists, accounting for 6.2% of the total in September. These tourists were mostly from Europe, with Italy and Germany topping the list. 3,438,677 inbound tourists visited the region between January and September, up 9.6% and accounting for 6.6% of the total.

81.7% of inbound tourists arrived by air in September, i.e. 5,737,994 tourists. This was an increase of 7.1%. 1,133,975 inbound tourists entered Spain by road, representing 16.1% of the total, while 2.2% arrived by other means. Air travel was also the most popular form of travel in the first nine months of the year, with 41,744,932 inbound tourists arriving by air, representing 79.7% of the total and an increase of 6.7%. 9,672,189 inbound tourists arrived by road, representing 18.5% of the total and an increase of 9.6%.

Hotel accommodation accounted for 64.1% of the total in September, with 4,501,095 inbound tourists and growth of 3.9%. 2,522,072 tourists stayed in non-hotel accommodation, i.e. 35.9% of the total, with an increase of 16.5%.

The number of inbound tourists travelling independently rose by 12.3% in September - to 4,933,456 - accounting for 70.2% of the total, while 2,089,711 tourists chose to travel on a package holiday, a decrease of 0.7%. Between January and September, 36,837,589 inbound tourists travelled independently, accounting for 70.3% of the total and an increase of 7.4%, while the 15,570,063 who travelled on a package holiday accounted for 29.7% of the total, with an increase of 7.6%.