Never before has Spain received so many foreign tourists in April as this year. Specifically, 7.2 million international visitors arrived in the country, 18.5% more than in the same period of 2022 and 1.2% more than in April 2019, according to official data from the Ministry of Industry revealed this Thursday. by Héctor Gómez in a sector event in Madrid.
These are record numbers in volume of visitors and also in spending. Foreign tourists spent 8,420 million in April during their trips to Spain, 22.7% more than a year ago and 20.2% compared to the best pre-pandemic data, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
With these figures, Spain accumulates 21 million visitors between January and April 2023. It represents an increase of 32.4% compared to last year. Global spending totals 25,681 million euros, 36.6% more than in the same period last year and 14.5% above 2019.
The first destination in April was, by far, Catalonia, with 21.3% of the tourists who arrived in Spain, 1.5 million in total. One in four foreigners who came to the Catalan community came from France and one in ten from the United States. Next came the Balearic Islands, with 16.3% of arrivals, and the Canary Islands, with 15%.
Of the rest of the communities, the annual increase of 27.3% in the number of tourists who arrived in Andalusia stands out. Next, the second fastest growing territory is the Community of Madrid, with 21.8% compared to 2022, and, in third place, was the Valencian Community, with an increase of 10.7%.
The average expenditure per international tourist in April stood at 173 per day, 11.6% more than a year ago, and the average duration of the trips was 6.8 days, according to official figures from the department headed by Héctor Gomez. The minister commented this Thursday that "these are extraordinary data that show, once again, that Spain is at the forefront of world tourism, that the tourist recovery is complete and that the Government's policies are working, both those related to specialized employment and quality and aid for the modernization of the sector, are paying off”.
The United Kingdom continues to lead as far as the outbound tourist market is concerned, with 1.4 million visitors. During the month of April, 8.7% more Britons arrived in Spain than a year ago. They are followed by France and Germany. The ministry highlights the growth of visitors from the United States, which increased by 60.7% compared to April 2022.
