CDM | Spain, as expected, ended the year with a new record for tourist arrivals. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) released today, a total of 85.1 million tourists will visit Spain in 2023, an increase of 18.7% compared to the previous year, the European Press Agency reported. Comparing this figure to pre-pandemic 2019, tourist arrivals increased by 1.9%.
Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are the regions that have benefited most from our country’s tourist boom, with the UK and France topping the list of tourists in 2023.
Tourists from the UK increased by 14.6%, from France by 17% and from Germany by 10.6%. However, data shows that 28.1 million British and German tourists will arrive in 2023, a record year for the sector, compared to 2019. It has been shown that tourists are lost.
However, the exponential growth recorded by the United States during the same period stands out, with visitor numbers surging by 38.7% to nearly 4 million in 2023, 16.8% above pre-pandemic numbers. last year.
By region, Catalonia received the most tourists in 2023, followed by the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands. Catalonia received 18 million tourists (21.2% increase compared to 2022), the Balearic Islands 14.4 million (9.1% increase) and the Canary Islands 13.9 million (13.1% increase).
In terms of spending, Spain also hit a record high, but major European countries have surpassed 2019 figures since the end of last year, with the UK, the biggest tourist issuer, leading the way. Spain.
Therefore, spending by international travelers from the UK is 11.8% higher than pre-pandemic levels. It also outperformed Germany (+11%), France (+28.6%), Italy (+22%) and the Nordic countries (+4.7%).