Spain Recovers 71% Of International Tourists It Received Before Pandemic
In February, Spain regained 71% of the international tourists who arrived in the pre-pandemic period (February 2020), reaching nearly 3.2 million travellers, and the level of expenditure stood at 78%, exceeding 3.7 billion euros.
The United Kingdom is the main source market with nearly 580,000 tourists, representing 18.3% of the total, while tourists from France spent more on their trip than two years ago, according to data from Frontur surveys and Egatur released by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
“In February, the trend of recovery in international tourism has been consolidated, with growth of more than 670,000 travellers compared to the previous month, which shows the perception of Spain as a safe destination. A trend that we expect to intensify significantly in the run-up to the first milestone in the 2022 holiday calendar, Easter. Our forecast is that in April we will be able to recover around 80% of international tourists from before the pandemic”, said the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto.
International tourist arrivals in February grew by 1,007.8% compared to last year to 3,156,809. The United Kingdom, France and Germany, in that order, were the main source markets, although the highest year-on-year growth rates were recorded in the Nordic countries (2,005.1%), Ireland (1,998.9%) and the Netherlands (1,482%).
In the first two months of 2022, the number of tourists visiting Spain increased by 680.6% and exceeded 5.6 million. In the same period in 2021, 722,947 arrived.
Main destinations
The Canary Islands, with 968,004 visitors, was the main destination for international tourists (3 out of 10 opted for this archipelago), mostly British and German; followed by Catalonia (with a 19.6% share and 619,390 travellers) and Andalusia (13.5% and 425,307 visitors). Catalonia was mainly visited by tourists from France and other European countries, while Andalusia received mainly British and French tourists.
The length of stay of the majority of tourists in February was four to seven nights, with total expenditure (including travelling to Spain) of 3.757 billion euros, which represents 79.7% of the pre-pandemic period. There is already one market, France, with a higher level of spending than in February 2020 (385 million euros compared to 349 million euros). The average spend per tourist, at 1,190 euros, is also higher than in the pre-pandemic period, when it was 1,066 euros.
The main autonomous communities in terms of tourist spending are, in order, the Canary Islands, Catalonia and the Valencian Community. The main item of spending was activities, followed by international transport not included in the package tour and meals.