Ana M. López
Research expert covering travel, tourism and hospitality
International tourism in Spain- statistics & facts
Inbound tourism is one of the main drivers of the Spanish economy. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the expenditure of international tourists represented more than half of Spain’s service exports throughout the 2010s. Moreover, inbound tourism made up the largest share of total tourism expenditures in the Iberian country in 2022. Due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this trend was flipped in 2020 and 2021, with domestic travelers accounting for around two thirds of the country’s tourism spending during those years.
Has tourism in Spain recovered since COVID-19?
In 2022, the number of international visitor arrivals in Spain grew by more than 100 percent after the steep decline recorded in the previous two years. The total number of overnight tourists from other countries that year amounted to nearly 72 million, whereas same-day visitors amounted to over 33 million. Similarly, the monthly air passenger traffic in Spain experienced an almost complete recovery in 2022. December was the month that registered the most similar air passenger traffic to the pre-pandemic numbers, at 17.9 million travelers.Leading source markets for inbound tourism in Spain
The United Kingdom was the top source market for international tourism in Spain in 2022. That year, over 15 million residents of the UK took a trip to the Iberian country. The second top source market was France – Spain’s largest neighbor. In total, nearly 10.1 million French tourists traveled to Spain in 2022. Meanwhile, the number of tourists from Germany amounted to roughly 9.7 million. All these countries contribute significantly to Spain’s economy. In 2022, the total expenditure of international tourists in Spain exceeded 69 billion U.S. dollars.Most visited Spanish regions
Catalonia, Spain’s most northeastern autonomous community, was the most popular international tourist destination in Spain in 2022. The second and third most visited autonomous communities in Spain were the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, respectively. Each of these two regions received a combined total of more than 25 million international tourists in 2022. While some tourists prefer to avoid big cities during their travels, others prefer to seek them out. The most visited Spanish city by international tourists in 2022 was Barcelona.
