Spain received the visit of 7.5 million international tourists last June, which is three times (236.6%) as many as in the same month of 2021, when 2.2 million foreign tourists came to Spain. This is shown in data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE).
These tourists spent almost €9 billion, representing a 271.3% increase compared to the same month in 2021. With this new upturn in June, both the arrival of international tourists and their spending in Spain have now completed 12 consecutive months of year-on-year increases. This is of course, following the interruption caused by the coronavirus.
First semester of 2022
In the first six months of 2022, the number of tourists visiting Spain increased by 457% to more than 30.2 million. Moreover, that is a figure six times higher than in the same period of 2021, when, despite the restrictions caused by the pandemic, a total of 5.4 million tourists visited Spain. Most tourists came from the UK (almost 6.5 million, up 2,253.5% year-on-year), followed by Germany (almost 4.4 million, up 272.4%) and France (with more than 3.9 million, up 232.8%).
In June, 1.8 million UK tourists came to Spain, or 24.2% of the total and an increase of 1,165.9% compared to June 2021. Germany and France followed with 1.1 million and 865,973 tourists respectively. Notable is the annual growth of tourists from Ireland (1,424.3%), the United States (806.8%) and Scandinavia (239.7%).
What are the most popular regions?
The main destination for tourists visiting Spain in June was the Balearic Islands, accounting for 26.3% of the total. Catalonia (21.6%) and Andalucia (13.5%) followed in second and third place.
The Balearic Islands attracted nearly 2 million tourists, 198.5% more than in 2021. 31.6% of them came from Germany and 27% from the United Kingdom. The number of tourists coming to Catalonia rose by 298.3% to 1.6 million, while just over a million visited Andalucia, representing an annual increase of 240.9%. The number of tourists also increased in the other regions: 335.1% in the Madrid autonomous region, 306.9% in the Canary Islands and 207.9% in the Valencia autonomous region.
In the first six months, the communities that received the most tourists were Catalonia (more than 6 million and an increase of 517.6% compared to 2021), the Canary Islands (with more than 5.7 million and an increase of 662.5%) and the Balearic Islands (with almost 5.2 million, an increase of 314.1%).
Flying favourite
Airports were the favourite way to enter Spain in June with 6.4 million arrivals, representing an annual increase of 273.3%. By road, 92.4% more tourists arrived, by rail 178.2% more and by ports 819.5% more.
The number of tourists staying in commercial accommodation in June increased by 274.4% year-on-year, hotel accommodation by 280.2% and rental accommodation by 225.2%. More and more tourists found accommodation outside the market, up 104.3%. The number of tourists staying with relatives or friends increased by 133.3% and those staying in private accommodation by 69.8%.
Leisure time
According to data from the INE, leisure, recreation and holidays were the main reason for 6.6 million tourists to travel to Spain, representing an annual increase of 273.4%. The number of business tourists was 430,294 (126.2% more) and 399,291 (59.5% more) tourists visiting Spain for other reasons.
Expenditure tripled
The increase in the number of tourists also led to an increase in spending. The average expenditure per tourist was €1,205 in June, with an annual increase of 10.3%. Average daily spending increased by 18.6% to €174.
In the first six months of 2022, total spending by international tourists increased by 515.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, to €35,769 million. The INE data shows that the average duration of trips by international tourists is almost 7 days, which is 0.5 days less than in June 2021. The British spent the most (with 21.6% of the total), followed by Germans (13.8%) and French (7.1%). The autonomous communities with the highest tourist expenditure in June were the Balearic Islands (with 24.2% of the total), Catalonia (20.6%) and Andalucia (13.1%).
In the Balearic Islands, tourist expenditure increased by 194.8% year-on-year, in Catalonia by 377.2% and in Andalucia by 286.7%. The rest of the main tourist destinations also saw an increase in tourism income.
International tourist accommodation expenditure
The total number of nights spent by international tourists in all types of Spanish accommodation (hotels, flats, own home, home of family or friends, rental accommodation) exceeded 51.5 million, an increase of 213.1%. The Balearic Islands were the region where most overnight stays were booked 12 million, 157.6% more than in June 2021), Catalonia followed with almost 9 million (up 297.8%) and then came Andalucia (with almost 8.3 million, up 226.5%).
Also read: Tourism recovery in Spain
