Tourism closes a successful summer in Spain with over 10 million international tourists arriving in August

Last August tourist spending amounted to 13,529 million euros, which represents a growth of 19.9% compared to the same month last year.

In the first eight months of the year, Spain has seen 57.7 million arrivals, which represents a growth of 19.6% compared to the same period last year. During these first eight months of 2023, total expenditure amounted to 73,393 million euros, 24.3% more than in the same period last year and 14.9% higher than in 2019.

According to the acting Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, "We are closing an extraordinary summer with data that confirm the full recovery of a sector that is not only the main driver for our economy, but also a powerful industry that is generating more and more higher-quality jobs; also wealth that spans across both society and the territories".

The Minister for Tourism also highlighted "the magnificent figures in terms of tourist arrivals from the United States and Switzerland, which are markets with great purchasing power whose nationals seek to have differentiating experiences in an increasingly competitive and innovative ecosystem, in which Spain is a world leader".

Growth in average and daily spending

The average expenditure per tourist in the month of August amounted to 1,343 euros, with an annual increase of 5.3%. Meanwhile, average daily spending grew by 6.7% compared to a year ago, to 173 euros.

The average trip duration of international tourists is 7.7 days, similar to the figure for August 2022. The most popular length of stay for tourists in August was four to seven nights, with over 4.6 million tourists in this range, representing an annual increase of 13.9%.

The US is the fastest growing market

The UK was the main country of residence for these tourists in August, with 2 million people, representing 20.1% of the total and an increase of 10% compared to August 2022.

France and Germany were the next countries with the most tourists visiting Spain. France contributed with 1.9 million tourists (17.9% more in terms of the annual rate) and Germany with 1.2 million (5.8% more).

Among other countries of residence, the year-on-year growth in the numbers of tourists from the US (29.5% more than in August last year), Switzerland (24.1%) and Ireland (22.4%) stands out. So far in 2023, 2.5 million Americans and 1.3 million Swiss tourists have visited Spain.

Tourists arriving from the rest of the Americas - excluding the USA - also experienced significant growth, increasing by 40.9% year-on-year, and from the rest of the world, rising by 29.9%.

In terms of their level of spending in August, the main countries are the UK (with 18.5% of total spending), France (9.6%) and Germany (11.6%). The annual rate of spending by tourists from the UK increased by 15%, from France by 22.6% and from Germany by 9.8%.

Main destinations

In the first eight months of 2023, the communities that hosted the most tourists were Catalonia (with almost 12.3 million and an increase of 24.1% compared with the same period in 2022), the Balearic Islands (with almost 10.5 million and an increase of 8.6%) and the Canary Islands (with more than 8.9 million and an increase of 14.5%).

Focusing on the month of August, the Balearic Islands is the main destination for tourists, with 23.3% of the total. In second and third places were Catalonia (21.1%) and Andalusia (14.3%).

A total of 2.3 million tourists arrived in the Balearic Islands, 7.3% more than in August 2022. The main countries of residence of tourists in this community are the UK (with 26.3% of the total) and Germany (25.2%).

The number of tourists visiting Catalonia in August increased by 11.7%, surpassing 2.1 million. A total of 26.5% of these came from France and 12.3% from the UK.

The third main destination by community according to the number of tourists was Andalusia, with 1.4 million and an annual increase of 11.2%. The UK was the main country of residence (with 20.8% of the total), followed by France (at 14%).

In the rest of the autonomous communities, the number of tourists increased by 39.4 % in the Community of Madrid, by 19.7 % in Valencia and 2.6 % in the Canary Islands.

Non official translation