Record 22.5 million inbound tourists visit Spain between January and May, up 5.1%

According to the FRONTUR Survey - Inbound Tourism Survey - drafted by the General Sub-directorate of Tourism Information and Studies of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, Spain posted a new record for the period January to May with a total of 22.5 million inbound tourists, an increase of 5.1% on the same period of 2014 or an additional 1.1 million inbound tourists.

From among the main emitting markets, growth by French tourists is worthy of mention, posting an increase of 8.2% to 3.7 million inbound tourists in the five-month period, as well as the 13.2% increase in inbound tourists from the United States, 12.1% from Switzerland and 11.3% from Italy.

The Region of Madrid was the region posting the highest growth to May, up 11.7%, followed by the Balearic Islands and Andalusia, both posting increases of 7.7%. Catalonia, with 5.7 million inbound tourists, was the most-visited region.

Spain also set a new FRONTUR record with the arrival of 6,504,872 inbound tourists in May, an increase of 6.8% on the same month last year.

The top emitting market in May was the United Kingdom with 1,669,491 inbound tourists, followed by Germany with 1,111,056 and France with 1,064,300, representing the highest increase among the main emitting markets at 18.1%.

Main emitting markets

The United Kingdom was the top emitting market between January and May with 4,945,507 inbound tourists, an increase of 3.3% and accounting for 22% of all inbound tourists in the period. 1,669,491 British tourists visited Spain in May, 25.7% of the total although a slight decrease of 0.9%. Catalonia and Andalusia were the regions most visited by British tourists.

3,632,891 German tourists visited Spain in the first five months of the year, an increase of 3.1% and accounting for 16.1% of the total. 1,111,056 German tourists visited Spain in May, an increase of 10% and accounting for 17.1% of the total. The Balearic Islands were the destination for half of all German tourists visiting Spain, whose presence also increased in the Region of Madrid and the Canary Islands.

France posted the highest growth of all the top emitting markets at 8.2% between January and May, with 3,703,125 tourists visiting Spain, accounting for 16.4% of the total. France also posted noteworthy growth in May, at 18.1% or 1,064,300 inbound tourists, accounting for 16.4% of the total. Catalonia was the region most visited by French tourists.

The Nordic markets, with 1,883,790 inbound tourists (the fourth-largest emitting market in terms of inbound tourists in the first five months of the year), posted a downturn of 5.7% on the previous year, accounting for 8.4% of the total. However, in May, the number of Nordic tourists rose by 4.1%, or 373,335 tourists. This was particularly felt in Andalusia and Catalonia, while numbers remained stable in the Balearic Islands. These markets accounted for 5.7% of the total.

Italy was fifth among the top emitting markets with 1,303,566 inbound tourists, up 11.3% - one of the highest increases in the five-month period, and accounting for 5.8% of the total. 313,123 Italian tourists visited Spain in May, up 8.4% and accounting for 4.8% of the total. These tourists especially preferred the Region of Madrid as their destination.

913,804 inbound tourists visited Spain from the Netherlands in the first five months of 2015, up 1.2% and accounting for 4.1% of the total. 326,929 Dutch tourists visited Spain in May, up 9.6%, accounting for 5% of the total. Andalusia was the most popular choice among these tourists.

Belgium, with 770,455 inbound tourists between January and May, posted growth of 7.4% and accounted for 3.4% of the total. 191,561 Belgian tourists visited Spain in May, up 5.2% and accounting for 2.9% of the total.

Switzerland posted significant growth of 21.7% in May and 12.1% in the five-month period, while the United States posted growth of 18.3% in May and 13.2% from January to May.

Growth to May was also exceptional from the Asian markets, such as China (up 56%), South Korea (up 107%) and Japan (up 21%).

Main destination autonomous regions

Catalonia was the top destination with 5,732,394 inbound tourists, up 5.2% on the first five months of the previous year. This region also posted the highest number in May at 1,628,268 inbound tourists, up 7.2% and accounting for 25% of the total. The strongest growth was posted by French tourists, together with US and Asian tourists.

The 4,859,434 inbound tourists visiting the Canary Islands in the first five months of the year, up 0.1%, put this region in second place with 21.6% of the total. With 810,243 inbound tourists in May, the Canary Islands came fourth in terms of inbound tourists, up 4.3% and accounting for 12.5% of the total. French and Dutch tourists posted the highest growth.

Andalusia was visited by 3,107,262 tourists between January and May, up 7.7% and, accounting for 13.8% of the total. In May, the region was visited by 941,571 inbound tourists. This represents an increase of 9.7% on the previous year to account for 14.5% of the total. Almost all emitting markets posted growth, especially the Netherlands.

In the first five months of 2015, the Balearic Islands were visited by 2,663,523 tourists, an increase of 7.7% and accounting for 11.8% of the total. 1,458,440 inbound tourists visited the islands in May, especially Germans but also Italians and Swiss, up 6.2% and accounting for 22.4% of the total.

The Region of Madrid was visited by 2,103,079 tourists between January and May, up 11.7%, making it the region with the highest growth in the period, accounting for 9.3% of the total. 542,353 tourists visited the region in May, also the highest increase in the month at 11.4%, accounting for 8.3% of the total. This growth was mainly due to French and German tourists, although strong growth was also posted by US tourists.

With 2,080,393 inbound tourists, the Region of Valencia posted growth of 2.7%, accounting for 9.2% of the total in the period. 598,965 tourists visited the region in May, a slight decrease of 0.4%, accounting for 9.2% of the total. Significant growth was posted by France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Ireland.

Form of travel, accommodation and type of holiday

The number of inbound tourists arriving by air maintained its dominant position, accounting for 82% of the total for the period and 82.4% for the month, respectively. However, there was a significant increase of 19.1% in the number of inbound tourists arriving by road in May.

65.3% of the total between January and May (14,707,062 inbound tourists) opted for hotel accommodation. However, the largest growth in the period was posted by rented property, at 20.5%, while other accommodation rose by 15.1%. In May, hotel accommodation rose by 1.7%, while non-hotel accommodation rose by 18.6% on the same month of 2014.

The number of tourists choosing to travel independently (70.7% of the total between January and May) rose by 8.1%, while the number of those travelling on a package holiday fell by 1.5%.

The same trend was seen in May, with 68.8% of tourists choosing to travel independently (up 10.4%) and the number of package holidaymakers falling by 0.3%.