The rise in prices that tourism has experienced, both in accommodation and in transportation and other services, has brought traveler spending to a historical record this last summer, with 37,987 million euros between June and August. All of this, despite the fact that the total number of foreign visitors has decreased compared to 2019, when tourist spending amounted to 33,331 million euros in those three months. Fewer tourists have arrived but they have spent more, indicate the data published by the INE this Tuesday.
Between the months of June and August, Spain received 28.5 million international travelers, somewhat below the 28.82 million in the same period of 2019, the year of the previous maximum. In the high season of 2022, 25.4 million foreign tourists arrived. But what the sector values is the expenditure made by these travelers. The tourism industry has been trying to change its model for some time, with less massification and more added value. This last year there has been an increase in category in part of the hotel plant, which has pushed prices up and has begun to modify the profile of arriving tourists.
In this sense, the increase in travelers from the United States stands out, with a year-on-year increase of 29.5% in August, the issuing market that is growing the most despite the fact that it is not yet in the top three, which continue to be occupied by the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Now, this is a type of customer who spends much more and has a high purchasing profile.
For the year as a whole, the number of tourists increased by 19.6% and exceeded 57.7 million, compared to 48.3 million in the first eight months of 2022. In comparison to the same period in 2019, before the pandemic, tourist arrivals are 0.7% below. Regarding the average expenditure per tourist, in August it reached 1,343 euros, with an annual increase of 5.3%. For its part, average daily spending grew by 6.7%, to 173 euros. The average trip duration of international tourists was 7.7 days, which is 0.1 days less than in August 2022.
The trend in spending is repeated for all of 2023, with an increase of 24.3% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 73,393 million euros. If this accumulated figure is compared with the data from 2019, before the pandemic, tourist spending is 14.9% higher. The good progress of the sector has also been certified this Tuesday by the group of travel agencies. 50% of these have closed the 2023 summer season with an increase in sales of between 5% and 15% compared to the same season in 2022, according to a survey by the Acave travel agency association.
The president of the entity, Jordi Martí, and the manager, Catiana Tur, presented this morning the results of a survey carried out among the 450 associated agencies on the balance of the summer and the perspectives of the sector for the end of the year. Martí celebrated that the summer has been "a success, with record sales and trips, and it has been surpassed in numbers not only last year but also in 2019." The results also indicate that 41% of the agencies surveyed have closed the season above a 15% increase in sales, and detail that the increases have been common both in incoming agencies and in broadcasters and agencies specialized in cruises.
The national destinations most in demand by Spaniards during this season have been Andalusia; Balearic and Canary Islands; Catalonia and the entire Atlantic Coast. The United States stands out as the favorite international destination of Spaniards, "a market that since its opening after the pandemic has been in first position", and has been followed by countries on the Mediterranean coast, the Near and Middle East, Africa and Asian countries.
For tourists visiting Spain, Catalonia remains the favorite destination followed by Andalusia, the Balearic Islands and urban destinations such as Barcelona and Madrid, "which have registered the largest increases compared to the 2022 season."
Martí has stated that "the upward line" of sales continues for the end of the year, that 59% of agencies expect them to grow between 5% and 15% compared to autumn and winter 2022, while 18% expect exceed 15%, and 23%, repeat the results of the previous year.
