Record spending by inbound tourists of 63.09 billion euros in 2014, up 6.5%

Total spending increased in every main market, with noteworthy figures posted by the United Kingdom (12.75 billion euros), Germany (10.02 billion euros) and France (6.56 billion euros). In turn, the largest increase in the year - at 15.5% - was posted by the United States, with a total inbound tourist spending figure of 2.85 billion euros.

Catalonia posted the highest spending figure in the year at 15.1 billion euros, an increase of 6.7%; the Canary Islands posted a figure of 12.44 billion euros, an increase of 6.6%; and the Balearic Islands posted a figure of 10.38 billion euros, a decrease in tourist spending of 2.4% when compared with the previous year. With a figure of 9.35 billion euros, Andalusia recorded the highest increase of the year at 11.4%.

The increase in spending in the other autonomous regions is also worth highlighting. This figure stands at 4.92 billion euros for the year and represents an increase of 18.5% on 2013, making a significant contribution to the regional distribution of tourism activity.

In December, total spending by inbound tourists recorded an all-time record since these figures began to be recorded: 3.28 billion euros, an increase of 2.4%. This growth was caused by increases in the number of tourists (up 5.6%) and their average spend per day (108 euros, up by 4%).

Emitting markets

The UK market spent a total of 12.75 billion euros (up by 5.9%), accounting for 20.2% of the amount spent by inbound tourists in Spain in 2014. This market therefore maintains its traditional position as the top emitting market to Spain for yet another year. In December, the UK market spent 554 million euros in Spain (up 9.7% on 2013) and this was due to increases in the average spend, daily spend and spend per tourist, as well as a longer average length of stay. This was particular positive for the results posted by Andalusia.

The German market spent 10.02 billion euros in the year (up 3%), accounting for 15.9% of the total. In December, German tourists spent 531 million euros, which represents 16.2% of the total and a decrease of 6.8% due to a lower spend per trip. The Canary Islands was the region most affected by this result.

The French market posted the highest year-on-year increase of all the top emitting markets in 2014 at 9.7% to 6.56 billion euros, accounting for 10.4% of the total. In December, French tourists spent 355 million euros (up 7.6%), accounting for 10.8% of the total. This was one of the largest increases in the month.

The Nordic markets spent 5.81 billion euros in the year (up 1.4%), accounting for 9.2% of the total. In December, Nordic tourists spent 430 million euros (down 9.8%), accounting for 13.1% of the total.

For 2014, it is worth noting the strong growth of 15.5% posted by tourists from the United States. These tourists spent a total of 2.85 billion euros, accounting for 4.5% of the total. In the year, inbound US tourists spent an average 2,338 euros per tourist (up 13.2%) and an average 182 euros per day (up 8.8%), both these percentages being the highest of all the various markets. In December, the US market posted the fifth-highest inbound tourist spending figure at 138 million euros. This is a significant increase of 9.7%, the highest in the month alongside that posted by the United Kingdom. This growth stems from an 8.3% increase in the number of tourists and the increased average spending figures.

Main destination autonomous regions

In 2014, Catalonia was the top autonomous region in terms of inbound tourist spending, with 15.13 billion euros and an increase of 6.7%. The region accounted for the largest proportion of the total, at 24%. In December, 725 million euros were spent by inbound tourists in this region, up 14.4% and accounting for 22.1% of the total. The region's top emitting market, France, made the largest contribution to this growth.

With 12.44 billion euros spent in the year (an increase of 6.6%), the Canary Islands accounted for 19.7% of total inbound tourist spending. In the month, this region surpassed the figure posted by Catalonia with 1.09 billion euros spent and accounted for 33% of the total. However, this figure represents a decrease of 10.7% on December 2013. This result was due to a decrease in the average spend per tourist and the number of tourists.

A total of 10.38 billion euros were spent by inbound tourists in the Balearic Islands, accounting for 16.5% of the total and a decrease of 2.4%. Spending by inbound tourists in the Balearic Islands in December amounted to 92 million euros, with the largest increase in the month at 31.5%. The significant increase in the number of tourists (up 23%) and the average spend per tourist (up 6.9%) were the reasons behind this strong growth.

Andalusia posted 9.35 billion euros in 2014 (up 11.4% - the highest increase in the year), accounting for 14.8% of the total. In the month, 463 million euros were spent by inbound tourists in Andalusia. The increase of 20.7% was the second-highest in the month, accounting for 14.1% of the total. The United Kingdom was the main market and therefore made the largest contribution to the strong growth.

The Region of Madrid, where 5.48 billion euros were spent by inbound tourists (up 9.1% on the previous year), posted the second-highest increase in 2014 and accounted for 8.7% of the total. With 393 million euros spent in December, this region posted a decrease of 6.8%. This result was particularly affected by the Latin America market.

A total of 5.39 billion euros were spent in the Region of Valencia in the year, up 3.4% and accounting for 8.5% of the total. 249 million euros were spent in the month, an increase of 4.9% accounting for 7.6% of the total.

Type of accommodation, type of holiday and reason for travel

Inbound tourists spent 40.21 billion euros on hotel accommodation in 2014, up 3.8% and accounting for 63.7% of the total. Spending on non-hotel accommodation amounted to 22.88 billion euros, an increase of 11.4% on the previous year, representing 36.3% of the total. Hotel accommodation revenue was 1.89 billion euros in December, down 4.3% and accounting for 57.6% of the total. Non-hotel accommodation spending stood at 1.39 billion euros, an increase of 13.2%, representing 42.4% of the total.

Tourists travelling independently spent 42.23 billion euros in 2014, an increase of 6.4% and 66.9% of the total, while spending by those tourists travelling on a package holiday amounted to 20.87 billion euros, an increase of 6.7% and 33.1% of the total. In December, spending by inbound tourists travelling independently amounted to 2.34 billion euros (the largest growth at 5.6%), while those travelling on a package holiday spent a total of 947 million euros, a decrease of 4.8% and 28.8% of the total.