Alex Trelinski
SPAIN welcomed a record number for foreign tourists in 2024, with December’s numbers yet to be factored in.
The National Institute of Statistics says that over 88.5 million people visited the country up to the end of last November.
That beats the previous best set in 2023 of 85.1 million arrivals over the full 12 months.
READ MORE:
- Spain will become the number one tourist destination in the world by this date, according to report by Google and Deloitte
- Spain prepares to fine Airbnb for ‘allowing illegal tourist flats’ on its platform
Figures for last November showed 5.7 million international tourists- up 10.3% on the same month in 2023.
The high number of arrivals have boosted spending figures, with the first 11 months of last year seeing expenditure at €118.6 billion- a rise of 16.7% on the previous year.
In November 2024, the average expenditure per tourist stood at €1,381, which means they spent than a year earlier.
The United Kingdom was the main market up to the end of November, with over 17.5 million arrivals- a 7.1% hike on 2023.
In tandem with that total, British travellers spent the most in 2024 accounting for 18.1% of foreign expenditure followed by Germany(12.3%) and France (8.8%).
The main destination for foreign tourists up to November was Catalunya, with 18.9 million visitors(up 9.9%) followed by the Balearic Islands with 15.1 million tourists(up 6.1%).
The Canary Islands came third with 13.8 million visitors- 9.6% more than a year ago.
