Spain received almost 79.4 million international tourists during the first eleven months of the year, 1.2% more than in the same period of 2018, while spending increased by 3%, to 87,265 million euros. These are the main data of the surveys on Tourist Movements in Frontier (FRONTUR) and Tourism Expenditure (EGATUR) prepared by the National Statistics Institute.
During the month of November, 4.7 million tourists visited our country, which represents an increase of 2.8% compared to November 2018. Its expenditure was 5,068 million euros, 3.7% more. The average daily expenditure stood at 161 euros (+ 4.6%).
The Secretary of State for Tourism, Isabel Oliver, considers these data to be very positive because “they show that the actions undertaken to advance the seasonally adjusted by diversifying products and markets are paying off. In the absence of knowing the figures for December, everything indicates that in 2019 we will have surpassed, again, the record of tourist spending and also of arrival of visitors, thus fulfilling the forecasts of the Government ”.
Arrival of tourists
In the accumulated year, the main issuing markets were the United Kingdom, with about 17.3 million international tourists, 2.2% less than the previous year; Germany, with almost 10.7 million (-1.8%), and France, with almost 10.6 million tourists, (-1.3%). Among the other countries of residence, the growth experienced by the United States (+ 13%), Russia (+ 8%) and Ireland (+ 6.8%) should be noted.
By national destinations, Catalonia was the community that received the most tourists, almost 18.4 million, an increase of 0.8%. It was followed by the Balearic Islands (with almost 13.6 million and a 0.8% decrease) and the Canary Islands (with more than 11.9 million, 4.4% less).
Notably, the growth of Madrid, which in November received 665,852 tourists, representing an increase of 10.3% compared to the same month of 2018.
Increase in spending
From January to November, the Autonomous Communities of main destination with the highest total expenditure were Catalonia (with € 20,250 M and an increase of 4.3%), Canary Islands (with € 15,374 M, 0.7% less than in the same period of 2018), and the Balearic Islands (with € 14,734 million, an increase of 1.1%). The Community of Madrid stands out again in this section, with an increase of 12.8% and € 9,665 million.
As for the issuing countries, the United Kingdom has the highest accumulated expenditure so far this year with € 17,204 (+ 0.5%). It is followed by Germany, with € 11,147 million (-2.2%) and France, with € 7,241 million (+ 2.6%).
