Spending by international tourists has grown by 21.8% up to May and exceeds 43.2 billion euros

International tourist arrivals and the tourist spending index in Spain continued to show an upward trend in May. In the first five months of 2024, spending by international tourists grew by 21.8% to over 43.2 billion euros, and the number of visitors increased by 13.6% to over 33.2 million tourists.

In the month of May, 9.3 million international tourists visited Spain, 11.5% more than in May 2023, according to the data published today by the National Statistics Institute (INE) in the Statistics on Tourist Movements at Borders (FRONTUR). Moreover, according to the Tourism Spending Survey (EGATUR) foreign visitors brought in revenues of 11.687 billion euros, which represents a growth of 19.7% compared to the figure for May last year.

In detail, the tourist spending data for May show improvements in the statistics relating to average spending per traveller and average daily spending which, together with the average stay, are three essential concepts for measuring the effectiveness of the Ministry's tourism strategy.

In May, each visitor spent an average of 1,263 euros, 7.3% more than last year, and spending per day also reflected this growth, reaching 204 euros, representing a year-on-year increase of 8.6%. The average length of stay was 6 days.

According to the Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, "Spain is an attractive destination for international tourists, as reflected in the figures for passenger arrivals in May. But what is most remarkable is the increase in the average spending per visitor, which is growing above inflation and contributing to modernisation, sustainability and quality of employment in the sector. It should also be noted that the quality and variety of our offerings are contributing to decentralising tourism. This May, the growth in visits to inland autonomous communities has been higher than in the Mediterranean and the islands. The Government of Spain will continue to work on sustainability, decentralisation and deseasonalisation to keep Spain at the top of the list of places international tourist prefer to visit."

Main tourist markets

For yet another month, the United Kingdom tops the list of countries from which tourists originate, with 1.9 million and an increase of 5.7% compared to the same month in 2023. From France, the second country in terms of visitor numbers, 1.3 million tourists arrived (11.7% more than last year) and from Germany, the third country in the ranking, 1.2 million tourists visited Spain (9.3% more than in May 2023). In addition, the largest increases in May were in the Irish market, up 20.7% year-on-year; and the Netherlands, up 15.6% year-on-year.

In terms of spending, tourists from the United Kingdom - those who spend the most in Spain - spent 2.197 billion euros in May, which represents growth of 16.2%. The second country in terms of spending was Germany, whose nationals spent 1.411 billion euros on their holidays in Spain, an increase of 18% compared to May 2023. In third place is France, with spending of 991 million euros and growth of 17.7%. Leading the countries with the highest growth in spending in May were the Nordic countries, with a 25.6% year-on-year increase, and Italy, with 22.7%. During the first five months of 2024, the UK was the country with the highest cumulative spending (17.1% of the total), followed by Germany (13%) and France (7.8%).

Growth for inland autonomous communities

Catalonia was the top destination for international visitors in May with 22% of the total, followed by the Balearic Islands (21.6%) and Andalusia (14.6%). Catalonia hosted 5.9% more tourists than in the same period in 2023 (a total of 2 million); the number of travellers visiting the Balearic Islands increased by 11.1%, to 1.9 million and Andalusia received 11.4% more, reaching 1.3 million.

The inland autonomous communities are experiencing more growth than the sun and beach destinations. Madrid is the region with the highest year-on-year growth in May, with an increase of 24.3%. In the first five months of 2024, the communities that hosted the most tourists were Catalonia (7.1 million and an increase of 13.1% compared to the same period in 2023), the Canary Islands (6.5 million and an increase of 10.7%) and Andalusia (4.9 million and an increase of 12.9%).

Cumulative spending in the communities

The autonomous communities that were the main destinations with the greatest proportion of tourist spending in May were Catalonia (with 19.9% of the total and an increase of 8.3% to 2.323 billion euros), the Balearic Islands (19% and a growth of 16.6% to 2.220 billion euros) and the Community of Madrid (15.1% and an increase of 39.9%, which translates to a total of 1.765 billion euros).

During the first five months, the communities with the highest accumulated spending were the Canary Islands (22.3% of the total), Catalonia (18%) and Andalusia (15.1%).

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