Spain hits 10 million international tourists milestone in a record month with spending boosted by inflation

These strong figures confirm that the recovery of tourism in the country after the pandemic is practically complete, with a record occupation of more than 93%

Lucía Palacios

Madrid

Friday, 1 September 2023, 17:59

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Spain has surpassed in July for the second time in history the symbolic barrier of 10 million visitors. The milestone was also reached in July 2017, when about 10.5 million visitors were registered.

According to data published this Friday (1 September) by Spain's INE national statistics institute (INE), in July 10.1 million tourists visited the country, some 11.4% more than in the same period in 2022 and 2.6% higher than July 2019.

These strong figures confirm that the recovery of tourism after the pandemic is practically complete, with a record occupation of more than 93%. In the first seven months of the year, more than 47.6 million people visited the country, a figure that is still 0.8% below that registered in the same period in 2019, according to the statistics of tourist movements on borders (Frontur).

The acting Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, Héctor Gómez, does not doubt that 2023 will close with "record figures", since there is very positive advance data for the month of September and the rest of the year, based on the forecast of air travel figures, which are above 2022.

Spending shot up

Despite having received a lower number of tourists, the impact they left on the Spanish economy has marked all-time highs when spending in July shot up to 13.85 billion euros, which represents a growth of 16.4% compared to the same month last year and 16% compared to 2019. The average expenditure per tourist in the month of July stood at 1,367 euros, with an annual increase of 4.4%. For its part, daily spending also increased 9% compared to a year ago, to 185 euros.

The average duration of international tourist trips is 7.4 days, a figure similar to that of July 2022. Most tourists in July stay from four to seven nights, with more than 4.8 million in this range, an annual increase of 14.6%.

Main markets

The United Kingdom, France and Germany continue to be, in this order, the main tourist markets to Spain. The UK contributed one in five visitors in July, with more than two million travelers, representing an increase of 7% compared to July 2022. France, however, has set a record with its 1.6 million citizens who visited Spain (13.5% of the total).

The regions that receive the most tourists are Catalonia (with almost 10.2 million and an increase of 27% compared to the same period in 2022), the Balearic Islands with almost 8.1 million and an increase of 9%) and the Canary Islands (with almost 7.9 million, 16.3% more).

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