HOME / Blog / International tourism surpasses pre-pandemic figures in Spain
22-05-2024

International tourism surpasses pre-pandemic figures in Spain

The year started off with a third consecutive quarter showing better figures than in 2019

  • Recovery took effect in 2023 and accelerated in the first quarter of 2024, with an increase of around 15% in tourism arrivals.
  • 90% of international tourism continues to be concentrated in six autonomous communities, but dependence on the three major European markets has dropped: United Kingdom, France and Germany.
  • 2023 relaunched tourism from the American continent – especially from the United States.

The start of 2024 consolidates the recovery of international tourism in Spain, with the third consecutive quarter above 2019 in foreign tourism arrivals. The figure for 2023 was a record for international tourists, thanks in particular to the data from the last quarter, up to 10% better than in 2019. The beginning of 2024 continues this dynamic and has accelerated the arrival of tourists by more than 15% compared to pre-pandemic numbers. These are the latest data published by Frontur, statistics on tourist movements at the border, published by INE.

International tourism in Spain is highly concentrated in just six autonomous communities, which regularly host 90% of foreign tourists. Catalonia receives around 20% of tourists throughout the year, a figure that the Balearic Islands surpass in summer and the Canary Islands in winter. In fact, in recent years it is common for more than one in four tourists who come to Spain in the first quarter to travel to the Canary Islands.

This concentration is largely the same across source countries, with more than 45% of foreign tourists in Spain coming from the United Kingdom, Germany or France. However, this dependence on the three main markets has dropped by almost 7% in recent years. Since 2016, the American continent has become increasingly prominent in our tourism sector, with almost 2.5 million more tourists than before. Half of this growth comes from tourists arriving from the United States.

International tourism in 2023

The map above allows us to take a closer look at the main flows of foreign tourism arrivals in Spain in 2023. You can select any of the main origins and destinations of tourists using the search box. All you have to do is enter the name of one of the main source markets (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, United States, Belgium or Portugal) or the autonomous communities that account for the vast majority of tourists (Andalusia, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Catalonia, Community of Madrid or the region of Valencia) and check its tourists.

The main destinations

The region of Valencia is the one that has improved its foreign tourism figures the most since 2019. Last year it exceeded ten million and consolidated its position as the fifth most popular autonomous community for tourists, behind Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and Andalusia. Its growth was 10% compared to the pre-pandemic year. The two archipelagos also grew by more than 5%. The figures for the Basque Country stand out, which exceeded two million international tourists in 2023, with an improvement of around 25% compared to 2019 figures.

TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM ARRIVALS

All the main destinations improved upon their 2019 figures in 2023, except for Catalonia, which had around one million fewer tourists, with figures similar to those of 2016. Both Andalusia and the Community of Madrid improved their figures minimally, in line with the national figures. With the exception of Catalonia and the Canary Islands, 2023 was the best year in terms of tourism arrivals. In the case of the Canary Islands, only 2017 saw a slightly higher number of arrivals.

In addition, the beginning of 2024 confirms the increase in tourist arrivals. In the region of Valencia, Catalonia and the region of Madrid, figures exceeded those of the first quarter of last year by more than 20%. In Andalusia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, the figure stands at above or around 15%.

The data from INE's experimental statistics on tourism based on mobile phones offer data at provincial level. In this regard, the Balearic Islands and Barcelona stand out as the destinations that account for more than 10% of international tourism, and another six provinces exceed 5%. Except for the region of Madrid, all are coastal destinations

The main source countries

Of the three major countries of origin, only France exceeded the number of tourists from 2019 in 2023, although the United Kingdom and Germany almost match the numbers from 2019 after improving their figures by more than 10% in the last year. Furthermore, the data for the first quarter of 2024 are significantly better than in 2023 and surpass the 2019 figures by more than 15% in terms of tourists from France, close to 10% for tourists from Germany and over 5% for tourists hailing from the United Kingdom.

Tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2024 were better than those of previous years in virtually all markets, with the exception of the Nordic countries and tourists who are neither European nor American.

 

Arrivals from the American continent are those that have improved the most since 2019. From the United States, the number has increased by more than half a million tourists (an increase of over 15%) and from the rest of the continent by almost 25%. Specifically, 2023 has seen an explosion in U.S. tourism, which increased the number of tourists to Spain by nearly 40% compared to 2022. This puts the number of tourists to Spain at nearly 4 million, approaching the figures of markets such as the Netherlands or Italy. The lifting of restrictions in Asian countries and the improved perception of security after COVID-19 have enabled the recovery of almost half of tourists from non-European and non-American origins in the last year, although it is still up to 15% below the figures for 2019.

The recovery from European sources is clear, and only the Nordic countries (Finland, Norway and Sweden) are still noticeably below 2019 levels, although with positive dynamics (the situation improved by more than 10% in 2022 compared to the previous year). Portugal, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland all have improved on pre-pandemic figures by more than 10%.

TREND IN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM ACCORDING TO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

Find more posts

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to top