Tourism revenue will be essential to the growth of the economy this year. In a context of slowdown in the manufacturing sector and the drag on exports caused by weak growth in neighboring countries, tourism can prop up Spanish GDP.
The latest data reinforce this thesis, as they show that the high prices of transport and accommodation this summer have not stopped the arrival of foreign tourists. Quite the contrary, the country has received more international visitors this July than in the same month last year, and also than in 2019. In other words, the pre-pandemic level is already exceeded. We’ll see how August develops, but the data for July is satisfactory.
There are more than 10.1 million people who traveled to Spanish destinations in July to spend their holidays, according to data released yesterday by the INE. This represents an increase of 11.4% compared to the same month last year. The total number of foreign visitors is an almost absolute record. In the entire historical series of the National Institute of Statistics, there is only one higher record, that of July 2017, when almost 10.5 million foreign tourists arrived.
Total spending by these international vacationers is also rising, largely driven by inflation – hotel prices in July peaked. In total, they spent 13,853 million euros, which represents an increase of 16.4% compared to the same month in 2022 and also 16% above July 2019. The average expenditure per tourist is 1,367 euros, with an increase annual rate of 4.4%. For its part, average daily spending grew by 9.0%, to 185 euros.
On the other hand, what is detected is that travelers have reduced the average duration of trips to adapt to the increase in the cost of stays. This time the stays are 7.4 days, which is 0.3 days less than in July 2022.
During the first seven months of 2023, the total expenditure of international tourists increased by 25.3% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 59,864 million euros. If this accumulated figure is compared with the data from 2019, before the pandemic, tourist spending is 14.7% higher.
The good data comes mainly from the recovery of the large international markets, such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The three together account for 46% of foreign visitors, which demonstrates their decisive role. In first place is the United Kingdom, the main country of origin of holidaymakers, with more than two million tourists, which represents 20% of the total and an increase of 7% compared to July 2022. Even so, it is below pre-pandemic arrivals. France and Germany are the next countries with the most tourists visiting Spain. France contributes 1.6 million (11% more in annual rate) and Germany more than 1.1 million (4.8% more).
Among the other countries of residence, the annual growth of tourists from the United States (28.9%), Portugal (18.5%) and Italy (17.8%) stand out.
When examining how these tourists are spread across the different autonomous communities, there is a clear predominance of two. The Balearic Islands, which took 24% of the total, with 2.4 million visitors, followed by Catalonia, with 23%, which means 2.3 million tourists. Further behind are Andalusia and Valencia, with 13% of the total, and the Canary Islands further away, with 10%.
Upon learning these data, the acting Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, affirmed that the sector is in “very good health”, with a record number of visitors and spending in the month of July. “Our tourism industry is in extraordinary health, the complementary offer is extraordinary and both European and international tourists continue to bet on Spain,” said the minister, who also noted that tourism “is pulling the economy a lot” and helps others sectors. The minister added that this good evolution of tourism will continue in September, given that the forecast of air seats is already above those of the same month last year.
On the other hand, according to his calculations, 80% of the employment that tourism is generating right now has stability and temporary employment in the sector has fallen by 20%, “which is an extraordinary indicator of the very good evolution of tourism in our country”.
