Spain received 7.2 million tourists in April, 20% above the best pre-pandemic figure

Spain was visited by 7.2 million international tourists in April, 18.5% more than in the same period of 2022, and 1.2% more than in April 2019.

These figures represent an all-time record in terms of visitor numbers and spending: €8.48 billion, 22.7% more than a year ago and 20.2% more than the best pre-pandemic figure, according to Frontur and Egatur data published today by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

In the first four months of the year, Spain received almost 21 million arrivals, which represents a growth of 32.4% compared to last year; during this four-month period, total expenditure was €25.68 billion, 36.6% more than in the same period last year, and 14.5% higher than in 2019.

For the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, "these are extraordinary figures that demonstrate, once again, that Spain is at the forefront of world tourism, and that the tourism recovery is complete".

Growth in average and daily expenditure

The average spending per tourist in April was €1,172, an annual increase of 3.6%. Meanwhile, the average daily spending grew by 11.6% to €173.

The average trip duration of international tourists was 6.8 days, a similar figure to the same month last year. The most popular length of stay for tourists in April was between 4 and 7 nights, with more than 3.7 million travellers choosing this duration, representing an annual increase of 18.3%.

The US, the fastest growing origin country

By country, the UK, which continues to head the list of source countries for the tourist market with 1.4 million visitors from this country in April, experienced strong growth (8.7%) compared to the same month in 2022.

France and Germany were the next countries with the most tourists visiting Spain, with more than one million visitors each. Tourist numbers from France grew in April by 26.9% in the annual rate, and those from Germany by 2%.

Among the other source countries, notable was the annual growth of tourists from the US (60.7% more than in April 2022), which was the country with the highest growth that month, followed by Italy (29% more than a year ago) and Portugal (29.6% more). In the first four months of the year, visitors from the US increased by 75.4%, as the country of origin with the highest growth in tourist arrivals compared to a year ago.

Catalonia and the islands, leading destinations

Catalonia, the top main destination for tourists in April, with 21.3% of the total number of tourists, received 1.5 million visitors, 33% more than a year ago. The main countries of residence for tourists who visited this autonomous region were France (with 25% of the total) and the US (10.1%).

After Catalonia, the Balearic Islands with 16.3% was the second community in terms of the number of international tourists visiting in April (more than 1.2 million visitors), and like Catalonia, it also experienced strong growth compared to a year ago. Compared to the same month in 2022, 10.5% more tourists arrived in the Balearic Islands in April. In terms of country of origin, 39.7% of visitors came from Germany and 18.3% from the UK.

The third main destination in terms of tourists was the Canary Islands, with 1.2 million visitors in April, representing an annual increase of 4.5%. The UK was the main country of origin (with 36.3% of the total), followed by Germany (17.8%).

In the first four months of 2023, the communities that received the most tourists were the Canary Islands (with almost 4.9 million and an increase of 23.5% compared with the same period in 2022), Catalonia (with almost 4.3 million and an increase of 45.4%) and Andalusia (with more than 3.1 million, an increase of 38.7%).

Regarding the other regions, the 27.3% annual increase in the number of tourists arriving in Andalusia stands out. The second fastest growing region after Andalusia is the Community of Madrid, with 21.8% compared to 2022, and in third place is the Valencian Community, with an increase of 10.7%.

Non official translation