Spending by inbound tourists hits record-high for month of July with 8.84 billion euros, up 8.8%

Average spending per person and per day increased by 2.9% and 3.8% respectively during this period.

In absolute terms, particularly noteworthy was the contribution from the United Kingdom, followed by Asian countries, France and the United States. The main destination autonomous regions posted growth in spending, with the Balearic Islands posting the highest increase in absolute terms (an additional 561 million euros) and the Region of Madrid posting the highest rate of growth (up 13.1%).

The month of July posted a record high with total spending by inbound tourists hitting 8.84 billion euros, an increase of 8.8%. This increase in tourist spending was largely due to both an increase in tourist numbers (up 6.3%), an increase in the average spend per person (up 2.4%), to stand at 1,007 euros, and an increase in the average daily spend (up 2.7%) to 106 euros.

Emitting markets

Once again, the United Kingdom was the main emitting market and responsible for the highest inbound tourist spending figures in both the first seven months of the year and in the month of July itself. Between January and July, British tourists spent 7.58 billion euros in Spain, up 11.2% and with a market share of total spending in Spain of 20.4%. July was the seventh straight month of growth, with spending of 1.85 billion euros, an increase of 16% and accounting for a market share of 21%. This rise came as a result of an increase in average spending per tourist of 9%, and per day of 9.2%.

German tourists spent 5.51 billion euros in July, a rise of 1% and accounting for 14.9% of total spending by inbound tourists. Spending in July amounted to 1.1 billion euros, up 2.9%, and accounting for 12.4% of the total. Average spending per German tourist stood at 943 euros, up 2.7%. The Balearic Islands was the region to benefit most from this growth.

French tourists spent 3.6 billion euros in Spain in the first seven months of the year, 10.6% up on the same period of 2014, and accounting for 9.7% of the total. In July, France was also the third leading emitting market in terms of overall spending, with 913 million euros, up 4.5% and accounting for 10.3% of the total, thanks to an increase in inbound tourists. This increase was most felt in Andalusia and the Balearic Islands, whilst numbers actually fell in Catalonia.

Fewer inbound tourists from the Nordic countries led to a 3.4% decline in spending, amounting to 819 million euros in July, despite increased average spending per tourist and per day. The Canary and Balearic Islands were the hardest hit by this fall. Overall spending by this emitting market also fell by 5.2%, to 3.46 billion euros, accounting for 9.3% of the total.

The United States rose to become the fifth leading emitting market in terms of spending. US tourists spent 2.09 billion euros in the first seven months of the year, up 16.3%, and accounting for 5.6% of the total. Spending fell by this emitting market in July by 7.6% due to lower average spending since there was a considerable increase in the number of tourists and the average length of stay.

The rest of the emitting markets accounted for 41.5% of total spending, with an increase of 14.3%, with noteworthy contributions from Belgium, Canada and Italy.

Main destination autonomous regions

Catalonia was the main beneficiary of tourist spending in the first seven months of the year, with 8.59 billion euros, up 5.5% and accounting for 23.1% of the total. In July, it accounted for 24.9% of total spending with 2.2 billion euros, and growth of 2.1% thanks to an increase in inbound tourists despite a fall in the average spend. The Asian countries were the main drivers of this growth.

The Canary Islands received total tourist spending between January and July of 7.28 billion euros, an increase of 3.2% and accounting for 19.6% of the total. Spending in July amounted to 1.08 billion euros, an increase of 9.1% to post the third straight month of considerable growth. The main emitting market was the United Kingdom, which, together with Belgium, were the two main markets driving this growth.

The Balearic Islands posted total tourist spending to July of 5.95 billion euros, up 10.4% and accounting for 16% of the total. The region posted year-on-year growth of 14.1%, accounted for 24.9% of total spending (2.21 billion euros) and, with growth of close of 272 million euros, was the region posting the highest additional growth. This growth was mainly down to the rise in average spending per person of 10.7%. The United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium were the emitting markets that most contributed to this growth.

Andalusia posted tourist spending of 5.68 billion euros to July, up 9% and accounting for 15.3% of the total. It accounted for 14.2% of total spending during the month, up 6.4% to 1.26 billion euros. The United Kingdom and France were the main drivers of this growth.

The Region of Madrid posted spending of 3.61 billion euros in the first seven months of the year, an increase of 13.1% and accounting for 9.7% of total spending. In July, and particularly as a result of an increase in inbound tourists to the region, total spending amounted to 562 million euros, a rise of 23.2%. The main drivers of this growth were the United States, Asian countries and Italy.

Total spending in the Region of Valencia amounted to 3.1 billion euros in the first seven months of the year, a rise of 8.2% on the same period of 2014 and accounting for 8.3% of the total. In July, with an increase of 11%, it accounted for 9.2% of total spending (816 million euros in the month). The United Kingdom and the Nordic countries were the main drivers of these positive figures.

Type of accommodation, type of holiday and reason for travel

In the first seven months of the year, 23.79 billion euros were spent by those inbound tourists who opted for hotel accommodation, a rise of 6.4% and accounting for 64.1% of all spending. Those tourists who opted for non-hotel accommodation spent 13.43 billion euros, posted growth of 10.3% and accounted for 35.9% of the total. During the month of July, 61% of total spending corresponded to those tourists opting for hotel accommodation, with a year-on-year increase of 11.3%. At 5%, spending by tourists who opted for non-hotel accommodation grew to a lesser extent.

The number of tourists travelling independently to Spain spent 25 billion euros, an increase of 11.1%, while spending by tourists who opted for a package holiday amounted to 12.13 billion euros, an increase of 1.5% between January and July. In July, spending by those who chose to travel independently rose by 13.3%, while spending by those who opted for a package holiday remained stable (up 0.2%).