According to Frontur and Egatur data published by the National Statistics Institute, in the first five months of 2023, Spain received 29 million arrivals, 28 % more than in the same period of 2022.

May

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Spain was visited by 8.2 million international tourists in May, 18 % more than in the same period of 2022 and 4 % more than in May 2019.

These figures represent, again and for the second consecutive month, an all-time record in the number of visitors, and also in the volume of expenditure: 9,723 million euros, 21 % more than a year ago and 19 % over the best pre-pandemic data, according to data published today by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

In the accumulated of the first five months of the year, Spain received almost 30 million arrivals (29.2 million), representing a growth of 28 % compared to last year; during this four-month period, the total expenditure was 35,405 million euros, 32 % more than in the same period last year and 16 % above 2019.

For the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, “We are already in the first days of a summer that will be historic for tourism in our country, and today’s travellers and spending data follow the extraordinary path of these last months: quality and competitiveness to remain world leaders”.

Growth in average and daily spending
The average expenditure per tourist in May was 1,183 euros, an annual increase of 3%. Average daily spending also increased by 11.6% compared to a year ago, to 185 euros.

The length of stay of the majority of tourists in May was four to seven nights, with more than 4.2 million and an annual increase of 22.8%.

Sending countries
The United Kingdom is the main tourist-sending country, with more than 1.8 million tourists, representing 22.2 % of the total and an increase of 10.4 % compared to May 2022.

France and Germany are the next countries with the most tourists visiting Spain. France contributes 1.2 million (24.1 % more in annual rate) and Germany almost 1.1 million (8.7 % more).

Among the other countries of residence, the annual growth of tourists from the United States (38.8 %), Portugal (26.2 %) and Belgium (19.6 %) should be highlighted.

Main destinations
The Balearic Islands were the top destination for tourists in May, with 21.9 % of the total. It is followed by Catalonia (21.8 %) and Andalusia (14.7 %).

The Balearic Islands received 1.8 million tourists, 10.2 % more than in May 2022. The main countries of residence of tourists from this community are Germany (with 31.3 % of the total) and the United Kingdom (29 %).

The number of tourists visiting Catalonia increased by 21.7 % to close to 1.8 million. 21.9% came from France and 11% from the United States.

The third main destination community by number of tourists is Andalusia, with more than 1.2 million and an annual increase of 16.5 %. The United Kingdom is the main country of origin (with 25.5 % of the total), followed by France (11.4 %).

In the rest of the communities, the number of tourists increased by 26.3 % in Comunitat Valenciana, 23.3 % in Comunidad de Madrid and 9.7 % in the Canary Islands.

In the accumulated of the first five months of 2023, the communities that receive more tourists are Catalonia (with almost 6.1 million and an increase of 37.5 % with respect to the same period of 2022), the Canary Islands (with almost 5.9 million and an increase of 21 %) and Andalusia (with almost 4.4 million, an increase of 31 %).