Spain had a huge August in terms of tourism with over 10 million international visitors passing through. Those tourists spent more than they did in 2015 with an increase in total tourist spending of 3.8%. The total expenditure of tourists in August was 10,354 million euros, according to data from the National Statistics Institute.
| Total spending (€ millions) | Annual variation (%) | Average spending per tourist (€) | Annual variation (%) | Average daily spending per person | Annual variation (%) | Average length of trip (days) | Annual variation (%) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
TOTAL | 10.354 | 3,8 | 1.025 | -1,9 | 116 | -0,2 | 8,9 | -1,7 |
Germany | 1.443 | 0,2 | 1.063 | 0,5 | 117 | 7,7 | 9,1 | -6,7 |
France | 1.415 | 9,1 | 637 | -0,5 | 78 | 2,3 | 8,2 | -2,7 |
Italy | 638 | 3,3 | 935 | 6,6 | 119 | 1,1 | 7,9 | 5,5 |
Scandinavian countries | 430 | 8,4 | 1.223 | 1,0 | 135 | 10,2 | 9,0 | -8,4 |
UK | 2.312 | 3,5 | 1.011 | -0,4 | 109 | -1,3 | 9,3 | 1,0 |
Rest of the world
| 4.117 | 3,0 | 1.284 | -5,7 | 140 | -4,5 | 9,2 | -1,3 |
European travel to major tourist destinations in Spain, Italy, the UK, Greece, and Portugal remain strong.
The average expenditure per tourist went down slightly to 1,025 euros per person. This represents a decline of 1.9%. The average daily spend also decreased by 0.2% to 116 euros per day.
The average length of stay by international tourists was 8.9 days. This was also a slight decrease, when compared to the previous year, of 0.2 days.
Cumulatively for the first eight months of 2016 the total expenditure has increased by 7.1% when compared to the same period last year. The total is a staggering 53,296 million euros.
Emitting Countries
The main countries in the level of spending in August are the United Kingdom (with 22.3% of the total), Germany (13.9%) and France (13.7%).
Despite Brexit worries, spending by British tourists increased by 3.5% and those from Germany increased marginally by 0.2%. Tourists from France increased their spending by 9.1% and those from Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden 8.4%.
In the first eight months of 2016 UK is the country with the highest accumulated expenditure (21.1% of total). Followed by Germany (14.1%) and France (9.4%).
Tourist spending per resident country
| Total spending (millions of | Percentage % | Annual variation |
|
euros) |
|
| ||
TOTAL | 53.296 | 100,0 |
| 7,1 |
Germany | 7.532 | 14,1 |
| 3,2 |
France | 5.030 | 9,4 |
| 9,5 |
Italy | 2.189 | 4,1 |
| 1,3 |
Nordic Countries | 4.066 | 7,6 |
| 7,5 |
UK | 11.266 | 21,1 |
| 11,8 |
Rest of World | 23.213 | 43,6 |
| 6,2 |
Spending by Destination
The regions where tourists spent the most money in the month of August are the Balearic Islands (with 24.2% of the total), Catalonia (23.2%) and Andalucía (13.8%).
Total spending according to destination in %
| Total spending (millions of euros) | Annual variation | Average spending per tourist (euros) | Annual variation | Average daily spending (euros) | Annual variation | Average length of trip (days) | Annual variation |
TOTAL | 10.354 | 3,8 | 1.025 | -1,9 | 116 | -0,2 | 8,9 | -1,7 |
Andalucia | 1.427 | -1,1 | 1.049 | -4,3 | 99 | -4,5 | 10,6 | 0,2 |
Balearic Islands | 2.505 | 2,6 | 1.092 | -1,7 | 138 | 3,0 | 7,9 | -4,5 |
Canaries | 1.357 | 6,4 | 1.220 | -4,3 | 128 | -4,5 | 9,6 | 0,2 |
Catalonia | 2.399 | 0,2 | 961 | -2,7 | 129 | 8,9 | 7,5 | -10,6 |
Valencia Region | 1.178 | 9,8 | 1.012 | -0,5 | 82 | -3,6 | 12,3 | 3,1 |
Madrid Region | 649 | 15,9 | 1.317 | 2,7 | 181 | -10,6 | 7,3 | 14,9 |
Rest of Spain | 840 | 6,0 | 708 | 0,2 | 85 | -4,5 | 8,3 | 4,9 |
In the Balearic Islands spending increased by 2.6%, while Catalonia saw an increase of 0.2%. However, in Andalusia spending decreased by 1.1%.
The Community of Madrid saw a large increase in tourist spending of 15.9% when compared to August 2015.
When we look at the first eight months of 2016 the largest chunk of spending was in Catalonia with 22.3% of the total. Spending on the Canary Islands accounts for 18.4% of the total, while the Balearic Islands account for 18.2%.
Total spending by international tourists by destination
| Total spending (millions of | Percentage % | Annual variation |
|
euros) |
|
| ||
TOTAL | 53.296 | 100,0 |
| 7,1 |
Andalucia | 7.785 | 14,6 |
| 6,7 |
Balearic Islands | 9.723 | 18,2 |
| 9,0 |
Canaries | 9.789 | 18,4 |
| 9,5 |
Catalonia | 11.909 | 22,3 |
| 2,3 |
Valencia Region | 5.218 | 9,8 |
| 10,9 |
Madrid Region | 5.037 | 9,5 |
| 13,0 |
Rest of Spain | 3.835 | 7,2 |
| 0,3 |
Tourists visiting Spain for leisure/holiday accounted for 92.8% of expenditure, 4% higher than the same month in 2015.
Looking forward to 2017, one-third of worldwide travellers report they’ll spend more on travel in 2016 than the year previous. Of those big spenders, Europeans dominate the list, with Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, and France all making the top 10.