Spain passed the symbolic barrier of 10 million visitors in July for the first time in history. Spain was visited by 10.1 million international tourists in July, 11.4% more than in the same period of 2022, according to data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE). Compared to the best historical figure, that of July 2019, growth was 2.6%. In terms of tourism expenditure, last July it amounted to €13.853 million, which represents a growth of 16.4% compared to the same month last year, and 16% compared to 2019.
In the first six months of the year, Spain has received 47.6 million arrivals, which represents a growth of 20.9% compared to last year. In the first half of 2023, total expenditure amounted to €59.864 million, 25.3% more than in the same period last year and 14.7% higher than in 2019.
For the acting Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, "for the first time we exceeded 10 million visitors in July, accompanied by extraordinary levels of tourist spending, which show Spain's potential as a quality, attractive and sustainable destination for the world".
The Tourism Minister also highlighted "the magnificent figures for tourist arrivals from the United States, which have not only recovered, as we have been observing throughout the summer, but are already above the best pre-pandemic figures".
Growth in average and daily expenditure
The average expenditure per tourist is currently 1,367 euros, an annual increase of 4.4%. Meanwhile, the average daily spending grew by 9% with respect to a year ago, to €185.
The average trip duration of international tourists is 7.4 days, similar to the figure for July 2022. Regarding the length of stay of the majority of tourists in July, it was four to seven nights, for a total of almost 4.8 million, representing an annual increase of 14.6%.
France and the United States, in record numbers
The UK was the main country of origin of tourists in July, with 2 million people, representing 20% of the total and an increase of 7% compared to June 2022.
France and Germany were the next countries with the most tourists visiting Spain. France contributed with 1.6 million tourists (11% more in terms of the annual rate) and Germany 1 million (4.8% more).
Among other countries of residence, the year-on-year growth in the numbers of tourists from the US (28.9% more than in July last year), Portugal (18.5%) and Italy (17.8%) stands out. In addition, arrivals from the US and France already exceeded pre-pandemic figures for July 2019 and also the cumulative figures for the first seven months of the year. So far in 2023, 2.3 million US citizens have arrived, compared to 1.9 million in the same period in 2019. With regard to France, 6.4 million visitors arrived up to July, 300,000 more than in 2019.
There has also been a significant increase in tourists arriving from the rest of the Americas -excluding the USA- , up by 30.3% year-on-year. By country, after the US, Switzerland (up 11.1%) and Ireland (up 8.3%) grew the most compared to a year ago.
In terms of their level of spending in July, the main countries are the UK (with 18.9% of the total), France (10.8%) and Germany (10.1%). The annual rate of spending by tourists from the UK increased by 9.8%, from France by 21.8% and from Germany by 4.5%.
Main destinations
In the first seven months of 2023, the communities that received the most tourists were Catalonia (with almost 10.2 million and an increase of 27% compared with the same period in 2022), the Balearic Islands (with almost 8.1 million and an increase of 9%) and the Canary Islands (with more than 7.9 million, an increase of 16.3%).
Focusing on the month of July, the Balearic Islands is the main destination for tourists, with 24.1% of the total. In second and third places were Catalonia (22.9%) and Andalusia (13.3%).
A total of 2.4 million tourists arrived in the Balearic Islands, 7.2% more than in July 2022. The main countries of residence of tourists in this community are the UK (with 26.2% of the total) and Germany (25.1%).
The number of tourists visiting Catalonia increased by 16.2%, surpassing 2.3 million. A total of 21% of these came from France and 11.1% from the UK.
The third main destination by community according to the number of tourists was Andalusia, with 1.3 million and an annual increase of 20.1%. The UK was the main country of origin (with 22.5% of the total), followed by the Nordic Countries (12.4%).
In the rest of the autonomous communities, the number of tourists increased by 18.4 % in the Community of Valencia, 6.1 % in the Community of Madrid and 4 % in the Canary Islands.
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