Spain posts highest ever January-July result with 36.3 million inbound tourists, an increase of 7%

 

 

Spain was visited by 36.3 million inbound tourists in the first seven months of the year - up 7% on the same period of 2013 and an all-time record since these figures began to be kept by the Inbound Tourism Survey (FRONTUR) drafted by the General Sub-directorate of Tourism Information and Studies of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism.

This period saw 8,447,277 inbound tourists arrive from the United Kingdom, an increase of 5.5% and the top emitting market once again. This was followed by Germany with 5,821,890 inbound tourists (up 6.6%) and France with 5,651,901 inbound tourists (strong growth of 10.8%). Catalonia was the top destination autonomous region with 9.3 million inbound tourists.

A total of 8,296,351 inbound tourists visited Spain in July, an increase of 5.9% and another all-time high for July in the FRONTUR statistics. The United Kingdom was the top emitting market while France made the largest contribution to overall growth, with an additional 155,000 inbound tourists.

Main emitting markets

The United Kingdom was the top emitting market in July, accounting for 23% of all inbound tourists with a total of 1,912,025. The UK made the second-largest contribution to overall growth in the month. One third of all British tourists travelled to the Balearic Islands, while the Canary Islands were their second most popular destination. A total of 8,447,277 British tourists visited Spain between January and July, 23.3% of the total and an increase of 5.5%.

With 1,412,096 inbound tourists, France - which posted the highest growth among the main emitting markets in the month (12.4%) - was second on the list with 17% of the total. 39.2% of French tourists travelled to Catalonia, while noteworthy growth was also posted in Andalusia. 5,651,901 French tourists visited Spain in the seven-month period, 15.6% of the total and an increase of 10.8%.

Germany was the third-largest emitting market in July, with 1,163,190 inbound tourists, 14% of the total and a decrease of 1.1%. Over 51% of German tourists travelled to the Balearic Islands, while the Canary Islands were their second most popular destination. 5,821,890 German tourists visited Spain between January and July, an increase of 6.6% and 16% of the total in the period, thus maintaining its position as the second-largest emitting market.

676,428 inbound tourists travelled from the Nordic markets in July. This significant growth of 12.1% means that the Nordic markets accounted for 8.2% of the total number of inbound tourists. Their main destination was the Balearic Islands. 3,103,927 inbound tourists visited Spain from these countries between January and July, an increase of 7.8% and accounting for 8.5% of the total.

449,286 inbound tourists travelled to Spain from the Netherlands, with an increase of 2.3% and 5.4% of the total. 1,606,555 inbound tourists visited Spain from this market between January and July, an increase of 4.9% and accounting for 4.4% of the total.

Italy posted strong growth of 10.4% in July, thereby consolidating significant increases in recent months. The 431,810 inbound tourists from Italy accounted for 5.2% of the total. The Balearic Islands were their main destination, where the number of Italian tourists rose by 20%. Between January and July, 1,954,887 Italian tourists came to Spain, an increase of 13.1% - the second-highest growth figure in the period.

The other emitting markets posting the highest monthly increases were Belgium - up 14.2% to 362,018 inbound tourists - and Switzerland - up 15.7% to 248,349 inbound tourists. In the period, Belgium posted the highest percentage growth, of 19%, and accounted for 3.5% of the total.

Main destination autonomous regions

2,152,591 inbound tourists visited Catalonia in July, the highest absolute figure in the month and accounting for 25.9% of the total. Growth in the number of tourists visiting the region stood at 2.6%, while its main emitting markets were France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In the first seven months of the year, Catalonia was visited by 9,281,112 inbound tourists. This is an increase of 5.7% and accounts for 25.6% of the total.

The Balearic Islands were visited by 2,068,845 inbound tourists in July, an increase of 3.9% and 24.9% of the total. The United Kingdom was the main emitting market for this region, while the number of German inbound tourists to the Balearic Islands fell slightly. A total of 6,288,847 inbound tourists visited the Balearic Islands between January and July, an increase of 0.8% and 17.3% of the total.

Andalusia posted the second-highest growth in the month,  7.4%, with 1,055,561 inbound tourists. This figure accounts for 12.7% of the total. The largest increases came from France, Belgium and the Netherlands, while its top emitting market - the United Kingdom - grew by 1.3%. A total of 4,793,696 inbound tourists visited Andalusia between January and July, where the 8.7% increase was also the second-highest in the period and accounted for 13.2% of the total.

With 914,592  inbound tourists in July in absolute terms, the Canary Islands was the fourth destination autonomous region and posted the highest monthly growth, with 8.4%. These figures account for 11% of the total. The top emitting market for the region - the United Kingdom - grew by 9.2%. 6,538,654 British tourists visited the Canary Islands in the seven-month period, 18% of the total and an increase of 11.8%.

The Region of Valencia was visited by 842,038 inbound tourists in July, with significant growth from France, Germany and Italy, although a decline was posted by its top emitting market - the United Kingdom. Growth in this region stood at 0.7% and accounted for 10.1% of the total. 3,495,060 inbound tourists visited the Region of Valencia between January and July, an increase of 4.3% and 9.6% of the total.

The Region of Madrid was the destination for 352,675 inbound tourists in July, an increase of 4.7% and 4.3% of the total. The top emitting markets to this region - France, Germany and the United Kingdom - all posted significant growth. 2,653,402 inbound tourists visited the region between January and July, up 7.6% and accounting for 7.3% of the total.

Form of travel, accommodation and type of holiday

Air travel was the chosen method for 75.2% of all inbound tourists (6,241,434 in July), an increase of 3% that compares with 13.1% growth in the number of inbound tourists travelling by road (1,905,662).  Air travel was also the most popular form of travel in the first seven months of the year, with 29,409,974 inbound tourists arriving by air - 81% of the total and an increase of 6.3%. 6,305,376 inbound tourists travelled by road in the period, representing 17.4% of the total and an increase of 9%.

Hotel accommodation accounted for 57.3% of the total, with 4,750,441 inbound tourists in July and growth of 0.3%. 42.7% of inbound tourists chose non-hotel accommodation (3,545,910), while 19.4% stayed in private property or property owned by relatives, 13.6% in rented property and 9.8% at other accommodation establishments.

The number of inbound tourists travelling independently rose by 8% in July - to 5,905,313 - accounting for 71.2% of the total compared with 28.8% of inbound tourists choosing to travel on a package holiday, which rose by 1% to 2,391,037. Between January and July, inbound tourists travelling independently accounted for 69% of the total - an increase of 4.6% - while the 11,260,682 who travelled on a package holiday accounted for 31% of the total - an increase of 12.7%.