Spain breaks pre-pandemic record in 2023 with arrival of 85.1 million international tourists1.9% more than in 2019 and Expenditure of 108,662 million eurosIt is 18.22% higher than then, according to data published this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). Catalonia remains the first community to receive tourists, with 21.2% of the total, but is the only one of the major regions to lose 18 million visitors compared to the year before the pandemic.
Last year’s arrivals in Catalonia decreased by 1.3 million less than the year before the pandemic. But the rest of the communities more than made up for this loss. Thus, Andalusia received 200,000 more tourists (12.2 million) than in 2019; Balearic and Canary Islands, 800,000 more people (14.4 and 13.9 million respectively); Valencia received a further 900,000 visits (10.4 million) and Madrid a further 200,000 (7.8 million). The rest of the autonomous communities, including the north of the peninsula, received a total of 8.1 million tourists, 100,000 fewer than in 2019.
The main countries of residence for tourists visiting Spain in 2023 were: United Kingdom, France and Germany. But only France improved its pre-pandemic figures, with 11.8 million visitors (700,000 more visitors than in 2019); There were 17.3 million British tourists (700,000 fewer) and 10.8 million Germans (300,000 fewer). In this case, tourists from the United States increased by 500,000 visitors, reaching a total of 3.8 million, while tourists from the group called ‘the rest of America’ stand out, reaching 4.6 million compared to 3.7 million in 2019.
While most countries such as Belgium, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland improved their arrival figures to Spain. The situation is getting worse in Scandinavian countries.
Millions of rain
Beyond compensating for tourist arrivals, 2023 has been a year of significant developments. millions of rainThis includes inflation and the post-pandemic increase in demand, which means an average spending of 1,278 euros per visitor; This is 16% more than before coronavirus. The autonomous communities that concentrated the highest total expenditure in 2023 were Catalonia (20,878 million, up 26.7% compared to 2022), the Canary Islands (20,334 million, up 16.5%) and the Balearic Islands (17,722 million, up 16.4%). happened. % more than in 2022).