Madrid (EFE).- Between January and May, 29.2 million international tourists entered Spain, practically at pre-pandemic levels (29.3 million), and spent 35,405 million, 15.8% more than then, according to the data published this Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The statistics for the entry of international tourists (Frontur) and associated spending (Egatur) show that the trend of higher spending per tourist that has been observed after the covid is consolidating: the daily average per person stood at 185 at the end of May. euros, 22 euros more than in that month of 2019.
The main issuers in the first five months of the year were the United Kingdom (with 5.77 million), followed by France (3.93 million) and Germany (3.73 million). Only France is above before the covid.
The spending made by these tourists in May reached 9,723 million euros, 20.8% more than last year and 19.5% more than in that month of 2019.
The average expenditure per tourist stood at 1,183 euros, with an annual increase of 2.7%, and the daily average (185 euros) grew 4.7%. The average stay falls slightly, up to 6.4 days.
May exceeds the entry of pre-covid tourists
The number of arrivals for May is higher than that of four years ago, since 8.2 million entered (8 million then), mainly British, French and Germans, who accounted for more than half of the total (4.1 million between the three).
Among the rest of the countries of origin of travelers, the increase in those from the United States (almost 39% over last year), Portugal (26.2% more) and Belgium (almost 20%) stands out.
Those who spent the most in the first five months were the British (6,100 million, 18% more than a year ago) followed by Germans (4,390 million, 14.3% more) and French (2,881 million, 26.5% more ).
However, the highest average daily spending was recorded in the “rest of the world” aggregate (223 euros), which includes Asians and Arabs, among others, with figures usually much higher than the average.
The British leave a daily average of 171 euros in Spain on their vacations; the Germans, 166 euros; the Italians, 150 euros; the Nordics, 145 euros, and the French, 124 euros.
The Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Andalusia, the most sought after
At the beginning of the summer season, the Balearic Islands was the main destination for international tourists, with 1.8 million (21.9% of the total), mainly German and British (60%).
It is followed by Catalonia, which received close to 1.8 million, of which 22% came from France and 11% from the United States; And then comes Andalusia, which welcomed 15% of foreign tourists (1.2 million people), whose main origins were the United Kingdom and France.
In the rest of the communities, the number of tourists increased by 26.3% in Valencia, 23.3% in Madrid and 9.7% in the Canary Islands.
In the accumulated of the first five months of 2023, Catalonia received almost 6.1 million people (37.5% increase compared to the same period of 2022), the Canary Islands (with almost 5.9 million and an increase of 21%) and Andalusia (with almost 4.4 million, 31.7% more).
The Canary Islands lead the spending figures
The communities in which the most was spent until May were the Canary Islands (8,420 million), Catalonia (6,451 million), Andalusia (5,143 million), Madrid (4,915 million) and the Balearic Islands (4,010 million).
Madrid registered the highest average daily expenditure (324 euros per person), followed by Catalonia (222 euros) and the Balearic Islands (195 euros).
Of the 29.2 million tourists who arrived between January and May, 24.4 million did so by plane, 4.2 million entered by road and just over 353,000 by boat. Nearly 95,000 arrived by train.
The vast majority (18.7 million) stayed in hotels and 3.2 million did so in rental housing. Another two million stay in their own vacation homes.