Spain welcomed a record number of tourists in 2023, with around 84 million international travelers visiting one of Europe’s most popular destinations. While the rest of the EU remains below pre-pandemic levels and global tourism is expected to fully recover by the end of the year, Spain has seen EU tourism already reach levels above 2019. It is one of the countries. Last year’s numbers.
Minister of Tourism Jordi Heleu admitted on January 19 that the 84 million tourists is a 17% increase compared to 2022 and 1% more than the 83.7 million tourists visited by Spain in 2019. However, although the number of visitors increased by only 1%, the amount spent was 17% higher than in 2019, amounting to 108 billion euros, accounting for 12.8% of the country’s GDP. “Overall, 2023 was a very positive year, a record year…We are still on the same path to prosperity,” Heleu said.
Looking ahead to this year, the minister declined to make long-term forecasts, but predicted that the number of foreign visitors in the first quarter would be 23.2 million, an 11% increase compared to 2023, and that spending would increase by 18%. Estimates from the non-profit organization Exceltour (Alliance for Tourism Excellence) suggest that Spain could cash out 200 billion euros from tourism by the end of the year, increasing its contribution to GDP to 13.4%.
We must govern tourism. The entire tourist offer needs to be regulated and a sustainable mix achieved in each region.
Jordi Herreu, Spanish Minister of Tourism
Meanwhile, Mr Heleu also acknowledged the need to not allow tourism to grow out of control. The country is at odds with its tourism industry, especially after the pandemic, and the Minister particularly emphasized the need to regulate both the growth and type of tourist accommodation, and to protect local populations as much as possible from disruptions to the tourism industry.
Mallorca has already announced that from the end of 2022, it will reduce the number of hotel beds available on the island as it shifts its approach to tourism to “more value, less quantity”. Last April, Barcelona’s deputy mayor likened cruise ship tourists to a “swarm of locusts” and predicted that the number of cruise ships docking at the city’s ports would increase in 2022, after already introducing mass tourist measures. I was considering limiting it.
The fight against overtourism continues throughout the summer, with Santiago de Compostela launching a “Conscious Tourism” campaign and Mayor Goretti San Martín announcing plans to introduce a tourism tax in 2025. In August, activists used anti-British sentiment to launch an overtourism campaign. Tourism control news came from San Sebastian in November, announcing plans to ban new hotels and tourist accommodations.