In 2023, Spain welcomed 83.5 million tourists, surpassing pre-pandemic 2019 levels, before COVID-19 restrictions affected leisure travel around the world. The UK, France and Germany emerged as the countries that contributed the most to Spain’s tourist inflow over the past year.
From an economic perspective, Spain’s income from foreign tourists soared to €108.7 billion ($117 billion) in 2023, representing a staggering 25% increase over the previous year. A significant contribution to the gross domestic product of tourism he reaches 12%.
Catalonia, particularly Barcelona, the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands off the coast of North Africa have emerged as the most popular destinations within Spain.
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In December last year, Spain received a total of 5.2 million international tourists, a significant increase of 26.2% compared to the same month in 2022, and 21.0% higher than the figure for December 2019.
The UK emerged as the leading country of origin, recording 907,752 tourists, an increase of 18.7% from December 2022. Furthermore, France and Germany also contributed significantly, with 819,405 (23.7% increase) and 561,521 (23.7% increase) respectively. .
The average length of stay for the majority of tourists was between four and seven nights, with a total of more than 2.2 million tourists visiting. Nevertheless, the number of day-trippers (non-overnight travelers) increased by 22.3%, and tourists with longer stays of more than 15 nights increased by 32.7%.
Regarding travel arrangements, approximately 4.1 million tourists chose to travel independently without a tourist package in November, registering a significant increase of 24.8%. On the contrary, more than 1.1 million tourists chose tourism packages, reflecting a significant increase of 31.3%.
France, Spain, and the United States are the top three most visited destinations in the world by international tourists.
(Editor: Jerome Anthony)