Spain is experiencing a summer of record arrivals with 29.2 million tourists in the first five months of the year, a figure that is just 0.4% below the pre-pandemic level. This is according to the Statistics of Tourist Movements at Borders (Frontur) published this Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The five-month total stands 6.4 million above the same period last year. In May, the country surpassed 2019 figures for the second time in a row, recording 8.2 million international visitors, up 3.8% from May 2019. In April, the increase against four years ago was 1.2%.
When it comes to expenditures, the data show values above 2019 for several months. Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, stood at 3.2% in May. This partially explains why total international tourist spending in the first five months of 2023 reached €35,405 million, a rise of 15.8% compared with 2019 (and 31.9% higher than in 2022). In May alone, visitors spent €9,723 million in Spain, up 19.5% from May 2019 and 20.8% higher than in May 2022. The average expenditure per traveler was €1,183 (up 15% versus 2019), while the average daily spend reached €185 (up 13%).
The average duration of international trips is 6.4 days, 0.1 days shorter than May 2022 and 0.14 days shorter than a year ago.
France and America
The main origin country in the first five months of 2023 remains the United Kingdom, totaling around 5.8 million visitors, though still below the 6.3 million reached in the same period of 2019. France ranks second, ahead of Germany with more than 3.9 million tourists, and above 3.7 million before the pandemic. Conversely, Germany, with more than 3.7 million, remains slightly below the 3.7 million seen in 2019.
Beyond France, arrivals from the American market performed well, exceeding 3 million travelers by a margin of 500,000 compared with the same pre-pandemic period. About 100,000 of this increase came from the United States, with the remainder from the rest of the continent. Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, and the category of other European countries (including Russia due to the war) also improved in the first months of the year, while numbers from Italy and the broader European region were nearly stable. Scandinavian countries recorded a decrease.
The May trend mirrors the early months of the year. France continues to pull in visitors, offsetting weaker numbers from the United Kingdom and Germany for a total of around 4 million tourists, still roughly 0.9% below the pre-pandemic level. Tourists from the United States and the rest of the Americas were up 32% versus 2019, totaling 945,590 visitors.
Catalonia continues to lead
Catalonia remains the top destination, receiving about 6.1 million visitors, though the region shows a slower recovery than the national average and records roughly 10% fewer visitors than in 2019. Alongside Madrid, which drew 2.9 million visitors, representing a 6.8% decrease from 2019, the two regions are the only major communities still below 2019 levels. The Balearic and Canary Islands, along with the Valencian Community, have already returned to or surpassed their 2019 figures thanks to the sun-and-beach appeal. Andalusia is close to the 4.4 million visitors registered before the pandemic.