The Diplomat
Spain is preparing to set a new record for foreign tourists, since, during the first eleven months of the year that has just ended, a total of 79.8 million international tourists arrived in our country. That is 18.2% more than last year, and is slightly above the same period in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
The data provided yesterday by the National Institute of Statistics on traveler arrivals and tourist spending confirm what has been reported for months: a complete recovery of tourism in Spain that hopes to exceed pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, Europa Press reports.
Last November, Spain received a total of 5.1 million international tourists, 18.6% more than in the same month of 2022. This figure was 10.5% above that of the same month in 2019.
These tourists generated spending that exceeded 101,000 million euros, which strengthens the Spanish Executive’s commitment to attracting higher quality tourism.
For the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, “tourist arrivals and spending at the destination have accelerated significantly in the second half of the year, especially in the months that were historically considered low season, with double-digit growth. , which has a very positive impact on the national economy, both in GDP and employment.
In the first 11 months of 2023, the number of tourists who visited Spain increased by 18.2% and exceeded 79.8 million. Compared to the first 11 months of 2019, before the pandemic, tourist arrivals were 0.8% higher, since there were 7.4 million in that period.
The United Kingdom was the main visiting country for Spain, with almost 1 million tourists and an increase of 15.2% compared to November 2022. 0.6 million arrived from France (9.0% more) and 0 from Germany. 6 million (18.5% more).
Among the countries with the highest year-on-year growth are Belgium (+32.5%), Switzerland (+29.5%) and the Netherlands (+22%). Also notable is the strong increase in American tourists (+20.4%) reflecting the ministry’s efforts to attract long-range markets.
The Canary Islands was the favorite destination for international tourists in November, with 25.9% of total arrivals, followed by Catalonia (22.3%) and Andalusia (14%). On the other hand, the main destinations of the year were Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.
This record number of tourists also led to a record number of consumption. The total expenditure made by international tourists who visited Spain in November reached 6,653 million euros, with an increase of 23.6% compared to the same month in 2022. This figure was 31.4% above that of the same month. month of 2019.
The average expenditure per tourist was 1,294 euros, with an annual increase of 4.2%. For its part, average daily spending grew by 4.1%, to 173 euros.
With all this, during the first 11 months of 2023, the total spending of international tourists increased by 24% and reached 101,569 million euros. If this figure is compared to 2019 data, before the pandemic, tourist spending was 16.9% higher.
