Spain closes 2019 with new record for inbound tourist numbers and spending over 92.2 billion euros

These are the main figures from the Tourist Border Movements (Spanish acronym: FRONTUR) and Tourist Spending (Spanish acronym: EGATUR) surveys drawn up by the National Statistics Institute.

The State Secretary for Tourism, Isabel Oliver, welcomes "the positive figures that 2019 close with, achieving a new record in terms of inbound tourist numbers and spending, thus showing the dynamic nature of tourism in a year not without difficulties, such as Brexit and the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook. These wonderful figures allow us to go into 2020 with solid foundations and in the confidence that we have a strong sector capable of maintaining Spain's position as world leader in tourism competitiveness".

Tourist arrivals

In 2019, the main emitting markets were the United Kingdom, with more than 18 million inbound tourists, 2.4% down on the previous year; Germany, with almost 11.2 million (down 2.1%), and France, with 11.1 million (down 1.2%).

Among the other emitting markets, there was noteworthy growth in tourism from the United States (up 12.6%), Russia (up 6.9%), and Ireland (up 6%).

By national destination, Catalonia was the most visited region, with almost 19.4 million tourists, up 0.8%, followed by the Balearic Islands, with almost 13.7 million tourists, down 1.2%, and the Canary Islands, with more than 13.1 million tourists, down 4.4%.

There was also noteworthy growth in the Region of Madrid, which received 7.64 million tourists in 2019, an increase of 7% on 2018.

Increase in spending

The main destination autonomous regions to enjoy the highest spending figures were Catalonia (with 21.33 billion, up 4.1%), the Canary Islands (with 16.87 billion euros, down 1.4%), and the Balearic Islands (with 14.88 billion euros, up 0.8%.

The Region of Madrid also posted a noteworthy rise of 12.6%, with 10.45 billion euros.

In terms of emitting markets, tourists from the United Kingdom spent the most in the year, with 17.99 billion euros (up 0.2%), followed by Germany, with 11.72 billion (down 2.1%) and France, with 7.6 billion (up 2.6%).

Non official translation