Walter Finch
THE Brits have been knocked off their perch – by the French.
New figures show that the UK’s long-running spell at the top of the visitor charts for Spain has come to an end, as 2.14 million Frenchmen came compared to 2.12 million Brits in August.
It’s the first time the Brits have been dethroned since the Covid pandemic, when German tourists outnumbered their British counterparts in 2020.
However, it is likely to be only temporary, as August-holidaying French folk took advantage of the land border with Spain to pop over for a visit.
READ MORE: Spain’s record-breaking tourism boom is being carried by the Balearic Islands
Brits are still on top overall, with 12.6 million visitors so far in 2024, way ahead of second-placed France with 9.2 million.
Traditional competitors Germany could muster only 1.2 million tourists in August, and 8 million for the entire year.
However, the French might want to think twice before popping the champagne – despite being the largest tourist numbers for August, they were the stingiest spenders.
Those 2.14 million Frenchmen parted with €2.18 billion while visiting Spain in August, or approximately €1,018.69 per person, or €135 a day – by far the stingiest among all the nationalities listed in the data. Less even than the Italians, on €1,102.
Meanwhile, the 2.12 million Brits – 200,000 fewer – splashed out €3 billion between them, or €1,426 each.
Unsurprisingly, the real big spenders among the tourists in Spain were the Scandinavians, who were happy to spend €1,610 per person, and the ‘rest of the world’, who spent €1,647 on average per person.
Spending on accommodation was the main item in August, accounting for 20.7% of total spending and an increase of 15.6% compared to the same month in 2023.
Hotels were still the accommodation of choice, taking up 64% of total spending .
Just 6% of visitors to Spain came for reasons other than leisure in August.
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