Spending by international tourists grew by 25.8% in February compared to the same month of 2023

Tourists at an airport

Spain was visited by 5 million international tourists in February, 15.9% more than in the same period of 2023, according to data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE). In addition, Spain once again broke its record for tourist spending this month. Foreign visitors brought in almost €6.75 billion, an increase of 25.8% compared to February last year.

For the Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, "In Spain, the low season for tourism is already behaving like another period of expansion, which shows that the deseasonalisation of arrival flows is consolidating, and this has a positive effect on tourist spending and the quality of employment, which is less subject to the ups and downs of seasonality".

In this regard, average spending per traveller and average stay - two figures that indicate higher quality tourism and are the focus of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism's policy efforts - also once again offer encouraging figures. Each tourist spent an average of €1,347 in February, 8.5% more than last year, and spending per day also reflects this growth, reaching €173, an increase of 5.8% year-on-year. During the first two months of 2024, the total spending of international tourists increased by 25.7% to reach almost €13.3 billion.

Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy, the fastest growing countries

The UK continued to top the list of tourist source countries in February, with 939,712 tourists, up 20.3% on February 2023. A total of 619,218 tourists arrived from France (1.4% more than a year ago), the second country in terms of visitors, and 592,188 tourists came from Germany, the third country in the ranking (11.3% more than in February 2023).

In terms of the level of spending in February, top of the list of issuing countries was the UK, with 17.2% of the total and a growth of 36.4%. Tourists from Germany were the second biggest spenders, with 12.2% of the total and a growth of 24.8%. In third place were the Nordic countries, with a share of 8.7% and an increase of 26.5% compared to a year ago. Italy's spending growth of more than 42% is also noteworthy.

Leading the fastest growing countries in February was Belgium, up 39.3% from a year ago; in second place was the Netherlands, up 35.6%, and third place went to Italy, with a 25.9% year-on-year increase. In terms of non-European countries, the USA stands out, with 164,162 tourists to Spain in February, an increase of 23.9%.

The Canary Islands, leader in arrivals and spending

The Canary Islands was the first main destination for tourists in February, with 28.1% of the total. In second and third places were Catalonia (21%) and Andalusia (14.5%), respectively. A total of 14.4% more tourists arrived in the Canary Islands in February 2024 than in February 2023. The number of tourists visiting Catalonia and Andalucia increased by 12.9% and 18.6%, respectively.

The autonomous communities with the greatest weight in terms of tourist spending in February were the Canary Islands (with 32.3% of the total), Catalonia (16.4%) and the Community of Madrid (14.7%). The annual rate of tourist spending increased by 21.6% in the Canary Islands, by 17.8% in Catalonia and by 36.9% in the Community of Madrid. The region where tourist spending increased the most was the Balearic Islands, up 41.5%.

Non official translation