The Balearic Islands saw 2.3 million tourists
In July, Spain received a massive 9.9 million international tourists. Although that sounds like a lot, it is actually a 1.3% drop compared to July last year.
The UK remained as the main source of visitors, with almost 2.2 million Brits heading to Spain for their summer break. Brits represent 21.9% of the total, although this too was a slight fall being 2.3% lower than July 2018.
France and Germany were once again the second and third position in terms of numbers. 1.4 million French visited (2.3% more than last year), and 1.2 million Germans (3% lower).
Among other countries showing significant growth in tourism to Spain were the USA (+19.9%), Ireland (+6.7%) and Russia (+5.2%).
Main Destination by Autonomous Community
Catalonia is the destination of choice for the majority of tourists in July, with 24.0% of the total. It is followed by the Balearic Islands (23.7%) and Andalusia (12.8%), according to data from the INE.
About 2.4 million tourists visited Catalonia, 2.1% less than in July last year. The main countries of residence of those tourists are France (with 20.6% of the total) and United Kingdom (10.7%).
The number of tourists visiting the Balearic Islands fell by 3.5% to a little over 2.3 million. 26.8% came from Germany and 26.3% from the United Kingdom.
The third most popular community by number of tourists was Andalusia, with almost 1.3 million tourists, an annual decrease of 5.0%. The United Kingdom is the main country of origin (with 26.3% of the total), followed by Nordic countries (14.8%).
In the rest of the communities the number of tourists increased by 10.2% in Valencia and 1.2% in the Community of Madrid. Meanwhile, tourist numbers dropped 7.9% in the Canary Islands.
The duration of stay for the majority of tourists in July was four to seven nights, with almost 4.5 million tourists, an annual increase of 1.4%.
Jan to July
In the first seven months of 2019 the number of international tourists visiting Spain has increased overall by 1.9% coming close to 48.1 million.
The main source countries so far this year are unsurprising. The United Kingdom (with about 10.5 million tourists and a decrease of 1.6% compared to the first seven months of 2018), Germany (with almost 6.6 million and an increase of 2.2%) and France (with more than 6.1 million tourists, 1.2% less).
The communities that received the most tourists from Jan to July are Catalonia (with almost 11.3 million and an increase of 1.5% compared to the same period of 2018), the Balearic Islands (with almost 7.9 million and an increase of 0.2%) and the Canary Islands (with more than 7.6 million, 3.5% less).
Tourist Spend
Of course, with tourists comes income for the many hotels, bars, restaurants and other services in Spain. In July, tourists spent a staggering 11,980 million euros, representing an increase of 2.0% compared to the same month of 2018.
The average expenditure per tourist reached 1,212 euros, an annual increase of 3.4%. The average daily expenditure grew by 4.9%, to 160 euros.
During the first seven months of 2019 the total expenditure of international tourists increased by 3.3% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 52,360 million euros.
Spend by Country
When looking at tourist spend by source, we see the bulk coming from the United Kingdom (with 20.6% of the total), Germany (11.7%) and France (8.9%).
Expenditure by tourists resident in the United Kingdom increased by 3.1% year-on-year, while spend by German tourists increased 0.1% and that of those from France by 5.7%.
In the first seven months of 2019, the United Kingdom is the country with the highest accumulated expenditure (19.5% of the total). It is followed by Germany (12.8%) and the Nordic countries as a whole (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) with 7.7%.
Spend by Autonomous Communities
The communities with the greatest weight in tourist spending in July are Catalonia (with 25.0% of the total), the Balearic Islands (24.1%) and the Canary Islands (12.4%).
Tourist spending increased 3.4% year-on-year in Catalonia and 1.8% in the Balearic Islands. Meanwhile, it decreased 2.5% in the Canary Islands.
The rest of the main tourist destination communities have positive annual variation rates, except in Andalusia, where spending decreased by 11.2%.
In the first seven months of 2019, the main destination communities with the highest accumulated expenditure are Catalonia (with 23.6% of the total), the Canary Islands (18.6%) and the Balearic Islands (15.9%).
