Brits back on top: The UK is once again Spain’s biggest tourist market after beating off the French

BRITISH tourists have come roaring back to reclaim top spot as Spain’s most prolific – and valuable – customers.

They were briefly knocked off their perch as the number one visitor in August by the French.

But the Gallic spike proved to be an anomaly, with the latest data from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics showing the number of French tourists dropped back in September. 

British numbers rocketed up in May and have maintained a steady pace throughout the summer and into the autumn.

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But they were unable to cope with a sudden spurt from France during the month of August, when the school holidays and the land border between the two countries gave the French a competitive advantage.

France’s 2.14 million visitors beat off the UK’s 2.12 million.

But September has seen a return to normal, with two million Brits coming to Spain against just 1.1 million French, who came in third behind Germany with 1.3 million.

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The Brits are also still Spain’s most valuable customer overall, spending a combined €2.5 billion in the country in September – up 9.3% on September 2023 and nearly a fifth of Spain’s tourist intake.

It works out at an average of €1,200 per person, parting with an average of €181 per day.

Germany was second with 13.0% of total spending and France third with 8.1% – despite being the stingiest spenders at just €122 a day.

Per person, the biggest spenders among the Europeans were the Scandinavians, spending an average of €189 a day – but still below the average daily spend of €195 including all comes from around the world.

READ MORE: French leapfrog the Brits to become biggest foreign tourist group in Spain – but spend the least, new figures show 

Overall, foreign tourists spent €12.6 billion in September, a very healthy increase of 12.7% compared to the same month in 2023.

The Balearic Islands have once again proven to be the destination of choice in Spain for both domestic and international tourists in September.

The islands hosted over 2.1 million travellers, a 5.9% bump compared to the same month last year. 

Catalunya ran the Balearics a close second for visitors, welcoming 2.03 million, followed up by Andalucia with 1.4 million and the Valencia Community with 1.2 million.

Overall, Spain received 9.6 million international tourists in September, a 9.1% increase year-on-year, maintaining the breakneck growth in the country’s tourism sector.