The Diplomat
Spain received a record 7.2 million international tourists in April, 18.5% more than in the same month of 2022 and 1.2% more than in April 2019, before the pandemic, according to data published yesterday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
Spending by these visitors was 8.48 billion euros, which is also a record for the month of April, and represents 22.7% more than a year ago and 20.2% more than the best pre-pandemic figure.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, highlighted these figures on his Twitter account, pointing out that it is “a success for the country”, and taking the opportunity to insist on the idea that is marking his pre-campaign for the general elections on 23 July. “This is the Best Spain. Neither the extreme right nor the extreme right can hide the good economic news”, he declared.
In the first four months of the year, reports Europa Press, Spain has received almost 21 million international tourists, which represents a growth of 32.4% compared to last year, with total spending reaching 25,681 million euros, 36.6% more than in the same period last year and 14.5% above 2019.
For the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, these are “extraordinary figures” that “demonstrate, once again, that Spain is at the forefront of world tourism, that the tourism recovery is complete and that the Government’s policies are working, both those relating to specialised and quality employment and aid for the modernisation of the sector”.
The average expenditure per tourist in April stood at 1,172 euros, with an annual increase of 3.6%. The average daily expenditure also increased by 11.6% to 173 euros, according to data published by the INE.
The average duration of trips by international tourists was 6.8 days, a similar figure to the same month last year. The most popular type of stay among tourists in April was between four and seven nights, with more than 3.7 million travellers choosing this mode and an annual increase of 18.3%.
The airport was the entry point for the largest number of tourists in April, with more than six million, representing an annual increase of 15.2%. By road, 35.3% more tourists arrived, by rail 44.8% more and by port 70.3% more.
Leisure, recreation and holidays was the main reason for travel to Spain for 6.2 million tourists in April, an annual increase of 19%.
By countries, the United Kingdom, which continues to lead the outbound tourist market, with 1.4 million visitors in April, 8.7% more than in April 2022. France and Germany are the next countries with the most tourists visiting Spain, with more than one million visitors each. Tourists from France grew in April by 26.9% in annual rate and those from Germany by 2%.
Among the other countries of residence, the annual growth of tourists from the United States (60.7% more than in April 2022), which is the country with the highest growth this month, as well as Italy (+29%) and Portugal (+29.6%) stand out.
In the first four months of the year, visitors from the United States have increased by 75.4%, being the country of origin where the number of tourists has grown the most compared to a year ago. In terms of expenditure, the main countries of origin in terms of the level of expenditure in April were the United Kingdom (with 16% of the total), Germany (14.8%) and France (9.1%).
Spending by tourists from the UK increased by 4.6% in annual terms, from Germany by 14.1% and from France by 31.1%. In the first four months of 2023, the UK was the country with the highest cumulative expenditure (16.4% of the total). It was followed by Germany (12.7%) and the Nordic countries (8.4%).
Catalonia was the top destination for tourists in April, with 21.3% of the total. It was followed by the Balearic Islands (16.3%) and the Canary Islands (16%). Catalonia received 1.5 million tourists, 33% more than in April 2022. The main countries of residence of tourists from this community were France (with 25% of the total) and the United States (10.1%).
The number of tourists visiting the Balearic Islands increased by 10.5% to nearly 1.2 million. 39.7% came from Germany and 18.3% from the United Kingdom. The third main destination community by number of tourists is the Canary Islands, with almost 1.2 million tourists and an annual increase of 4.5%. The United Kingdom was the main country of origin (with 36.3% of the total), followed by Germany (17.8%).
In the other regions, the number of tourists increased by 27.3% in Andalusia, 21.8% in Comunidad de Madrid and 10.7% in Comunitat Valenciana. In the accumulated of the first four months of 2023 the communities that receive more tourists are the Canary Islands (with almost 4.9 million and an increase of 23.5% over the same period of 2022), Catalonia (with nearly 4.3 million and an increase of 45.4%) and Andalusia (with more than 3.1 million, an increase of 38.7%).
