Spain visited by 29.2 million inbound tourists, up 4.2%, in best first half-year since records began

According to FRONTUR - the Inbound Tourism Survey, drafted by the General Sub-directorate of Tourism Information and Studies of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, this represents the arrival of 1.2 million more tourists than in the first six months of 2014.

The United Kingdom was the top emitting market in the period once again with 6,708,061 tourists (up 2.6%); followed by Germany with 4,732,869 tourists (up 1.6%) and France with 4,553,942 tourists (up 7.5%).

The United States (up 15.7%), Switzerland (up 9.7%), Belgium (up 7.8%), Ireland (up 7.4%) and Italy (up 7.3%) posted the highest increases in the first six months of the year.

In this period, Catalonia was the region visited by the highest number of inbound tourists (7.4 million), followed by the Canary Islands (5.6 million) and the Balearic Islands (4.4 million). The Region of Madrid posted the highest increase, at 8.2%.

In June, 6.7 million inbound tourists visited Spain, an increase of 1.4% and also a new June record since records began. The largest contribution was made by the Asian countries, France and the United States.

Main emitting markets

In the first six months of 2015, the United Kingdom accounted for 23% of the total with 6,708,061 tourists (up 2.6%), thereby maintaining its top position. The number of British tourists visiting Spain in June stood at 1,762,555 (up 1%), accounting for 26.4% of the total. Particularly strong growth was posted by these tourists in Andalusia, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.

Between January and June 2015, a total of 4,732,869 German tourists visited Spain (up 1.6%). This accounted for 16.2% of the total. 1,099,978 German tourists came to Spain in June (down 3%), accounting for 16.5% of the total. The Balearic Islands was especially affected by this result, followed by Andalusia.

In the first six months of the year, France was the third emitting market with 4,553,942 tourists visiting Spain (up 7.5%), accounting for 15.6% of the total. A total of 850,817 French tourists visited Spain in June (up 4.6%). This was the highest increase among the top emitting markets, accounting for 12.8% of the overall total. This is the third consecutive month of increases posted by France and particularly benefited Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.

The Nordic markets were the source of 2,313,961 inbound tourists, a decrease of 4.7% on the first six months of last year and accounting for 7.9% of the total. A total of 430,170 tourists came from these markets in June (up 0.1%), indicating a stable or positive trend. Fewer Nordic tourists visited the Balearic Islands, while more of them visited Andalusia, the Region of Madrid and the Region of Valencia.

Italy, with 1,633,537 tourists between January and June, posted an increase of 7.3%, accounting for 5.6% of the total. With 329,971 inbound tourists, Italy posted a decrease of 5.8% in June. This was the first downturn since the end of 2013. The decline was felt in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, while a higher number of Italian tourists visited the Canary Islands and Andalusia.

As regards the other markets, noteworthy increases in the month were posted by the Asian markets (32.3%) and the United States (21.6%).

Main destination autonomous regions

In the first half of the year, Catalonia accounted for 25.5% of the total with 7,439,211 inbound tourists - an increase of 4.4%. 1,706,817 inbound tourists visited Catalonia in June, an increase of 1.8% and accounting for 25.6% of the total. They mainly came from France and the Asian markets.

The Canary Islands were visited by 5,647,313 tourists between January and June, an increase of 0.4% and accounting for 19.3% of the total. This region was visited by 787,879 tourists in June, accounting for 11.8% of the total and an increase of 2.4%. The top emitting markets were the United Kingdom, Italy and Belgium.

A total of 4,395,751 tourists visited the Balearic Islands to June, a year-on-year increase of 4.3% and accounting for 15.1% of the total. In June, the region was visited by 1,732,228 tourists, a decrease of 0.4% and accounting for 26% of the total. More British, Asian and French tourists visited the Balearic Islands, while fewer German, Russian and Nordic tourists visited the region.

In the first half of the year, Andalusia posted an increase of 7.6% (the second-highest in the period) and accounted for 13.8% of the total with 4,022,839 tourists. A total of 915,577 tourists visited this region in June, mainly British and Asian tourists, the highest increase in the month (7.1%) and accounting for 13.7% of the total.

The Region of Valencia was visited by 2,714,476 inbound tourists in the first half of the year, an increase of 2.4% and accounting for 9.3% of the total. A total of 634,084 tourists visited this region in June (up 1.4%), mainly from the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland.

The Region of Madrid was visited by 2,489,294 inbound tourists between January and June, up 8.2% year-on-year and accounting for 8.5% of the total. In June, the region was visited by 386,215 tourists - a decrease of 7.4% on the same month last year, and accounting for 5.8% of the total.

Form of travel, accommodation and type of holiday

A total of 24,056,423 tourists arrived by air in the first half of the year, accounting for 82.4% of the total and an increase of 3.8%. Arrivals by road increased by 6.2%.Air travel was also the most popular form of travel in June, accounting for 83.8% of the total, with 5,589,851 inbound tourists arriving by air - an increase of 1.5%.

Hotel accommodation accounted for 65.1% of the total in the first half of the year, with 18,991,706 tourists and growth of 2%. 34.9% chose non-hotel accommodation - in other words, 10,201,495 tourists - while 19.3% stayed in private property or property owned by relatives or friends, 9.9% in rented property and 5.8% at other accommodation establishments.

Independent travel accounted for 70.7% of the total in the first half of the year - an increase of 7.8% to 20,628,936 tourists, while package holidays accounted for 29.3% of the total - a decrease of 3.4%.