New record of 6.4 million inbound tourists visit Spain between January and February, up 4.5%

Spain was visited by 6.5 million inbound tourists in the first two months of the year - an increase of 4.5% and an all-time record since these figures began to be kept by the Inbound Tourism Survey (FRONTUR) drafted by the General Sub-directorate of Tourism Information and Studies of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism.

All the main emitting markets posted growth in this period. The highest growth percentages were posted by Italy (20.4%), the United States (18.7%), Switzerland (9.4%), Belgium (8.6%) and Portugal (8.3%).

With an increase of 20.9%, the Balearic Islands were the Spanish region posting the highest January-February growth, while the Canary Islands and Catalonia were the regions visited by the highest number of inbound tourists, recording growth of 2.1% and 3.3%, respectively.

3.3 million inbound tourists visited Spain in February, a year-on-year increase of 5.3%. Italy (up 20.5%), Switzerland (up 13.5%) and the United States (up 12.3%) posted the highest growth percentages in the month.

Main emitting markets

A total of 1,219,499 British tourists visited Spain between January and February, maintaining the market's traditional leading position with an increase of 2.7% and accounting for 18.9% of the total. February saw 640,202 British tourists visit Spain; an increase of 0.7%, again maintaining the market's leading position and posting the highest percentage of the total at 19.5%. The number of tourists opting to travel independently grew significantly.

A total of 1,015,388 inbound tourists arrived from France in the first two months of the year, making this country the second emitting market in terms of both the accumulated total and the February figures with an increase of 2.1% and accounting for 15.7% of the total. February saw 536,935 French tourists visit Spain, an increase of 7.1% on last year and accounting for 16.4% of the monthly total. Growth was posted in all Spanish regions, except the Balearic Islands , and special note should be taken of the 37.7% increase in French tourists visiting the Canary Islands.

A total of 972,455 German tourists visited Spain between January and February, an increase of 3.4% on the same period last year, making this the third emitting market with a 15.1% share of the total. 514,349 German tourists visited Spain in the month, an increase of 3.5% and accounting for 15.7% of the total. The Balearic Islands were the most popular choice among these tourists.

With 706,025 inbound tourists and 10.9% of the total, the Nordic markets took fourth place although experiencing a decrease of 6.1% in the accumulated total. 354,503 Nordic tourists visited Spain in February, a decrease of 5.8%. The Canary Islands felt the brunt of this downturn.

Italy was the emitting market for 399,966 inbound tourists to Spain between January and February, posting the highest growth percentage in the period, at 20.4%. Italian tourists accounted for 6.2% of the total. The market also posted the highest year-on-year variation for February, up 20.5%, thus maintaining a double-digit year-on-year growth trend. 185,137 Italian tourists visited Spain, accounting for 5.6% of the total.

The Netherlands posted a decrease of 3.3% in the period, accounting for 3.8% of the total. Belgium posted an increase of 8.6% in the first two months of the year, accounting for 3.4% of the total. 210,655 inbound tourists visited from Portugal, an increase of 8.3% and accounting for 3.3% of the accumulated total.

Switzerland was the next emitting market with 159,973 tourists, posting strong growth of 9.4% in the first two months of the year and accounting for 2.5% of the total. The United States posted growth of 18.7% between January and February, with 121,313 inbound tourists.

Main destination autonomous regions

The Canary Islands were the destination for the highest number of tourists between January and February, 2,044,029, an increase of 2.1% and accounting for 31.7% of the total. In the month, the Canary Islands were again the destination for the highest number of inbound tourists, 1,008,599, an increase of 1% and the highest percentage of the total, 30.7%. Both the United Kingdom and Germany posted growth but the largest increase was posted by France, at 37.7%.

A total of 1,594,677 inbound tourists visited Catalonia in the first two months of 2015, an increase of 3.3% and accounting for 24.7% of the total. 847,730 inbound tourists visited this region in February, an increase of 5% and accounting for 25.8% of the total. The majority of visitors to this region were British and Italian, although the number of Asian tourists rose by 9.8%.

With 787,101 inbound tourists, Andalusia posted the second-highest growth in the period at 11.7%, accounting for 12.2% of the total.

415,576 inbound tourists chose Andalusia as their destination in February, an increase of 11.8% - also the second-highest growth percentage. The region accounted for 12.7% of the total, with noteworthy increases in Asian, German, French and Nordic tourists.

The Region of Madrid - the destination for 663,094 inbound tourists between January and February - posted growth of 5% and accounted for 10.3% of the total. The 11.4% growth posted by this region was the third-highest in February, with the arrival of 315,334 inbound tourists. Visitors to this region mainly came from the Asian countries, Italy and Belgium.

The Region of Valencia was visited by 534,650 inbound tourists in the period, 0.7% fewer than in the previous year and accounting for 8.3%. The region was visited by 279,047 inbound tourists in the month, a decrease of 2.7% and accounting for 8.5% of the total. France, Germany and Switzerland posted noteworthy increases in the month, but the downturn in British tourists affected the result.

The Balearic Islands was the region posting the highest growth in both the period and in February, 20.9% in both cases. A total of 229,911 inbound tourists arrived in the first two months of the year, accounting for 3.6% of the total. 123,751 inbound tourists visited the region in the month, accounting for 3.8% of the total. The Balearic Islands have thus maintained significant growth for four straight months. This is mainly due to its main emitting market, Germany, which has grown by 34.2%. Increases have also been posted by British, Belgian and Nordic tourists.

The remaining regions, with 598,683 inbound tourists between January and February and 292,276 in the month, grew by 5.5% and 9.8%, respectively.

Form of travel, accommodation and type of holiday

82.5% of arriving inbound tourists, i.e. 5,322,870, travelled by air in the first two months of the year, an increase of 4.4%. Air travel was the chosen form of travel by 2,725,727 inbound tourists in February, 83% of the total and an increase of 5.4%.

Road travel was the choice for 16% of inbound tourists, an increase of 4.3% in the accumulated figures. Meanwhile, 511,488 inbound tourists chose this form of travel in February, an increase of 5%.

Hotel accommodation was the preferred choice for 64.1% of inbound tourists, an increase of 4.4% between January and February, while 35.9% or 2,314,573 inbound tourists chose non-hotel accommodation, an increase of 4.5%.

A total of 2,171,973 inbound tourists stayed at hotels in February, 66.2% of the total and an increase of 4%. Non-hotel accommodation was chosen by 1,110,341 inbound tourists, i.e. 33.8%, an increase of 8.1%.

In the first two months of the year, there was a noteworthy increase of 6.5% in the number of tourists choosing to travel independently; a total of 4,580,636, or 71% of the total. In February, a total of 2,282,883 inbound tourists chose to travel independently; 69.6% of the total and an increase of 8.1%.