More than 53.4 million international travellers have visited Spain during the first 7 months of the year 2024, 12% more than in the same period of the previous year.

International tourist arrivals and tourist spending in Spain continue the positive trend. From January to July, spending by international tourists grew by 18.6% to 71,108 million euros and the number of visitors increased by 12% to 53.4 million tourists.

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Spending by international tourists exceeds 71 billion euros up to July, 18.6% more than a year ago

In July, 10.9 million international tourists visited us, 7.3% more than in the same period last year, according to data published today by the National Statistics Institute (INE). In addition, foreign visitors brought in 15,535 million euros in the same month, which represents a year-on-year growth of 11.9%.

For the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, ‘the significant increase in spending by international travellers visiting our country confirms that tourism, thanks to the efforts and work of everyone, continues to drive the country’s economy, generating wealth and employment in the sector’.

In detail, the tourism expenditure data for July, as has been the case in previous months, have seen improvements in the chapters on average expenditure per traveller and average daily expenditure which, together with the average stay, are three very useful concepts for measuring the effectiveness of the tourism policies carried out by the Ministry.

In July, each visitor spent an average of 1,432 euros, 4.3% more than last year, and the expenditure per day also reflects this growth, reaching 195 euros, an increase of 2.1% year-on-year. The average length of stay among tourists was 4 to 7 nights.

Tourists from Asia, the fastest-growing group of tourists
As usual every month, the United Kingdom was the main country of residence of tourists who visited us in July, with 2 million and an increase of 2.5% compared to the same month in 2023. From France, which this July is the second most visited country, 1.6 million tourists arrived (3.4% more than a year ago) and from Germany, the third in the ranking, 1.2 million tourists visited us (6.5% more than the figure for the same period last year).

In addition, the biggest increases in July were in Asia, up 11.5% year-on-year, and the United States, up 11.3% on the same month last year.

In terms of tourist spending, UK nationals – those who spend the most in Spain – spent 2,847 million euros in June, which represents a growth of 10.27%. The second country in terms of spending was Germany, whose nationals spent 1,674 million euros on their holidays in Spain. This represents an increase of 16.74% compared to July 2023, which places the German country at the head of the countries with the highest growth in July. In third place is France, with an expenditure of 1,497 million euros and a growth of 1.4%.

Catalonia, leader in arrivals so far this year
The Balearic Islands were the main destination for tourists in July, with 23.4% of the total. It was followed by Catalonia (22.1%) and the Valencia Region (13.6%).

The Balearic Islands received 4.3% more tourists than in July 2023. The number of tourists who visited Catalonia increased by 3.7% and Comunitat Valenciana received 10.8% more.

In the first seven months of 2024, the communities that received the most tourists were Catalonia (11.5 million and an increase of 10.5% compared to the same period in 2023), the Balearic Islands (8.7 million and an increase of 7.0%) and the Canary Islands (8.7 million, 10.3% more).

(8.7 million and an increase of 7.0%) and the Canary Islands (8.7 million, up 10.3%).

Illes Balears, at the head of spending
The Autonomous Communities of the main destination with the greatest weight in tourist expenditure in July were Illes Balears (with 24.4% of the total), Catalonia (20.1%) and Comunitat Valenciana (13.3%). Tourist expenditure increased by 16.2% in annual rate in Illes Balears, by 2.1% in Catalonia and by 20.1% in Comunitat Valenciana.

In the first seven months of 2024, the regions with the highest cumulative expenditure were Catalonia (with 18.9% of the total), the Canary Islands (18.3%) and the Balearic Islands (15.6%).