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 to Spain is constantly growing. In the first eight months of the year, the record number of 64.3 million was reached, said the statistics agency INE in Madrid. Compared to the same period last year, an increase of 11.2 percent was recorded, it said. Spending by tourists and business travelers 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. That 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 rose in August, by 5.3 percent to a good 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 1st and August 31st (plus 7.8 percent compared to the same period last year). They are followed by the French with around 9.2 million (10.1 percent) and Germany with a good eight million and an increase of 9.3 percent.
With almost 13.8 million entries, Catalonia was the most visited region. The Balearic Islands and the Mediterranean island of Mallorca take second place with almost 11.2 million visitors. They are followed by the Canary Islands (almost 9.9 million) and Andalusia (a good 9.3 million).
Discontent is growing – but the minister is celebrating the records
The number of visitors in Spain had been increasing rapidly for many years before the corona pandemic caused a pause. Since 2022, one record has been chasing the next. The protests, during which tourists were insulted and “shot at” with water pistols, among other things, did not affect this development.
This year there were demonstrations in vacationer 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 holiday apartments, is angering the locals – but also traffic jams, noise and dirt. Spain’s Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu, however, celebrated the new records and emphasized that the number of employees in the sector was 2.9 million in August, around 5.5 percent higher than in the same month last year.
Tourism accounts for almost 14 percent of the gross domestic product in Spain. In some regions, however, this value is significantly higher. In Mallorca and the rest of the Balearic Islands it is around 35 percent.
Source: Stern
