Spain received 4.7 million international tourists in September, representing 53% of the volume of international tourists prior to the pandemic and 311% more than in the same month of 2020. So far this year the number of tourists visiting Spain is close to 19.7 million. Tourist spending reached 5,401 million euros, compared to 964 million in September last year, six times more, according to the Statistics on Tourist Movements on the Border (Frontur) and the Tourist Expenditure Survey (Egatur) prepared by the National Institute of Statistics.
The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, highlighted that these data “confirm that the reactivation of international tourism is underway and month by month a positive trend is consolidated that places Spain as one of the preferred destinations for tourists international for its tourist attractions, but also for its high levels of security as 89% of the target population is vaccinated. Our prospects for the last quarter of the year are optimistic: the arrival of international tourists will be between 10.7 and 10.9 million, which means recovering 66% of the tourists who arrived in the same period of 2022 " .
For the minister, the arrival data and spending, added to the employment recovery data and the decrease in the number of workers in ERTE, which marks a new low of 190,000 people at the end of October, make “we are very optimistic and they place Spain at the forefront of the recovery of international tourism ”.
In September the average expenditure per tourist stood at 1,074 euros, 26.9% more than a year ago and the average duration of the trips is 7.8 days. The expenditure of international tourists in September also represents 52% of that registered in 2019 (€ 9,617 million). In the accumulated of the first nine months of the year, total spending reached 21,939 million euros, 23.6% compared to the same period in 2020.
By Autonomous Communities and countries
The Balearic Islands were the main destination chosen by international tourists both in terms of number of arrivals (24% of the total), 216% more year-on-year, and for its weight in tourist spending (26.8% of the total).
They are followed by Catalonia, which accumulates 18.5% of arrivals (7.2% more year-on-year) and represents 16.8% of spending, and Andalusia with 687,383 visitors.
Regarding the nationalities of origin of tourists, Germans led the number of arrivals in September, with more than 800,000 tourists; followed by British (785,478) and French (687,480).
So far this year, France is the main source market, with more than 4 million tourists and an increase of 23% compared to the same period in 2020. Germany with 3.4 million and an increase of 57%, occupies the second position .
Regarding the level of spending, the main source markets so far this year are Germany with 3,849 million (17.5%), followed by France with 3,216 million (14.7%) and the United Kingdom with 2,647 million euros ( 12.1%).