Tourism Spain reports another record number of visitors

Despite increasing protests against mass tourism, Spain is receiving more and more visitors from abroad. The numbers are climbing rapidly, to unprecedented heights.

The number of visitors from abroad in Spain is growing steadily. In the first eight months of the year, the record figure of 64.3 million was reached, according to the statistics authority INE in Madrid. Compared to the same period last year, an increase of 11.2 percent was registered, it said. Spending by tourists and business travelers even increased by almost 18 percent to around 86.5 billion euros.

In August alone, Spain was visited by almost eleven million tourists and business travelers. This is 7.3 percent more than in the same month last year. They left 15.3 billion euros in the country, around 13 percent more than in August 2023. Per capita spending also increased in August, by 5.3 percent to just over 1,400 euros.

Germans take third place behind the British and French

The ranking is led by a wide margin by the British with a total of around 12.7 million visitors between January 1 and August 31 (up 7.8% compared to the same period last year). They were followed by the French with around 9.2 million (10.1%) and Germany with a good eight million and an increase of 9.3%.

With almost 13.8 million arrivals, Catalonia was the most visited region. The Balearic Islands and the Mediterranean island of Majorca came in second place with almost 11.2 million visitors. This is followed by the Canary Islands (just under 9.9 million) and Andalusia (just over 9.3 million).

Displeasure is growing - but the minister is celebrating the records

Visitor numbers in Spain had been rising rapidly for many years before the coronavirus pandemic caused a pause. Since 2022, however, one record has been chasing the next. The protests, during which tourists were verbally abused and "shot at" with water pistols, among other things, have not affected this development.

There were demonstrations this year in tourist strongholds such as Mallorca, Barcelona, Málaga and the Canary Islands, but also in smaller towns. Above all, the rapidly growing housing shortage, which is also attributed to the increase in vacation apartments, is annoying the locals - but also traffic jams, noise and dirt. Spain's Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu, on the other hand, celebrated the new records and emphasized that the number of people employed in the sector in August was 2.9 million, around 5.5 percent higher than in the same month last year.

Tourism accounts for almost 14 percent of Spain's gross domestic product. In some regions, however, this figure is significantly higher. In Mallorca and the rest of the Balearic Islands, it is around 35 percent.

SDA