Catalonia attracted 21.7% of foreign visitors
Spain received 4.2 million international tourists in January, 2.2% more than in the same month of the previous year.
The UK was the main source of tourists, with 807,347 travellers visiting Spain in January. This represents 19.2% of the total tourists and is an annual increase of 1%, according to data from the INE.
German and French tourists were the next largest groups. Germans accounted for 515,989 visitors (2.7% more year-on-year), while French tourists amounted to 446,307 (8.7% less than last year).
Among other notable countries of residence, it is worth mentioning the annual growth of tourists from the USA (25.5%), Portugal (21.7%) and Ireland (10.8%).
Destination by Autonomous Community
The Canary Islands were the most popular destination for international tourists in January, taking 27.6% of the total. This is followed by Catalonia (21.7%) and Madrid (13.9%).
Around 1.2 million tourists visited the Canary Islands in January, 2.1% less than in the previous year. The main country of residence for those visitors was the UK (with 32.3% of the total), followed by Germany (20.4%).
The number of tourists visiting Catalonia increased by 5.3% to stand at 910,779. 19.4% came from France and 17.3% from the rest of the world.
Madrid saw 584,387 international tourists in January, an annual increase of 9%.
In other communities, the number of international visitors increased by 18.8% in the Balearic Islands and by 6.6% in Andalucía. On the other hand, numbers dropped by 8% in Valencia.
Tourist Spend
January’s international visitors spent a total of 4,689 million euros, an increase of 3.6% when compared to the same month in the previous year.
The average expenditure per tourist reached 1,117 euros, an annual increase of 1.4%. Average daily expenditure reached 138 euros, an increase of 5%, the INE says.
The average duration of stay for international visitors in January was 8.1 days, which represents an annual fall of 0.3 days.
The main emitting countries, in terms of expenditure levels, were the UK (with 17.3% of the total spend), followed by Germany (11.7%), and the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) with 10.1%.
The spend from UK tourists increased by 7.9%, while that of German visitors grew by 1.2%. On the other hand, spending by Nordic tourists decreased by 13.1%.
Autonomous Community Destinations by Spend
The main destinations with the greatest weight in tourist spending in January were the Canary Islands (with 31.2% of the total), Catalonia (20.1%) and Madrid (16.5%).
Tourist spending increased by 1.3% on the annual rate in the Canary Islands, 4.5% in Catalonia and 19.8% in Madrid.
Written by Marbella For Sale.
