International tourists spent 5.9 billion euros in Spain in August

The latest official figures confirm that tourism in Spain has entered the path of recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic

According to data from the central government, Spain received 5.2 million international tourists in August, which is half the pre-pandemic volume of international tourists and 112% more than in the same month in 2020.

The spending of these tourists reached 5,902 billion euros in August, according to the statistics on Tourist Movements at Borders (Frontur) and the Tourist Spending Survey (Egatur), both produced by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

In August, the average spending per tourist was 1,136 euros, 12.9% more than a year ago, and the average duration of trips was 8.4 days.

Spending by international tourists is also half of that recorded in August 2019 (€11.9 billion).

So far this year, the number of tourists visiting Spain has exceeded 15 million. In the first eight months of the year, total spending reached 16.898 billion euros, 0.7% more than in the same period of 2020.

Main destinations

The Balearic Islands was the main destination chosen by international tourists in August, both in terms of the number of arrivals (25.2% of the total), up 188.2% year-on-year, and in terms of tourist spending (26.8% of the total).

It is followed by Catalonia, with 20.7% of arrivals (up 134% year-on-year) and accounted for 19.1% of spending, and the Valencian Community with 753,864 visitors.

Spending in Andalusia increased by 119.9% year-on-year, ranking third with 14.4% of the total.

Markets

In terms of the nationalities of tourists, the French led the number of arrivals in August, with 1.3 tourists, followed by the British (714,668) and the Germans (677,599).

So far this year, France is the main source market, with more than 3.4 million tourists and an increase of 16% compared to the same period in 2020. Germany, with almost 2.6 million and an increase of 24%, is in second place.

In terms of spending, the main outbound markets so far this year are Germany with 2.894 billion euros (17.1%), followed by France with 2.696 billion euros (16%) and the United Kingdom with 1,822 million euros (10.8%).

The Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, stressed that "this data consolidates the recovery trend in international tourism and confirms that Spain is perceived as a safe destination and a country that facilitates international travel."