Spain was visited by 6.1 million international tourists in April, more than nine times the figure for the same month last year (+869.8%), when 629,000 foreign tourists arrived in the country, according to data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE). Total spending by international tourists visiting Spain in April reached 6,901 million euros, an increase of 932.4% compared to a year earlier. With this new upturn in April, the arrival of international tourists and their spending in Spain has now accumulated eleven consecutive months of year-on-year increases. The average expenditure per tourist rose by 6.5% year-on-year in April, to 1,131 euros, while the average daily expenditure grew by 18.3%, to 155 euros.
The average duration of trips by international tourists was 7.3 days, which is 0.8 days less than in April 2021.
The United Kingdom was the main country of origin in April, with 1.2 million tourists and an increase of 5,122.8% compared to April 2021, followed by Germany and France. Specifically, Germany contributed 989,807 tourists, six times more than in April 2021, while France contributed 826,193 visitors, seven times more. Between January and April, the number of international tourists arriving in Spain approached 15.8 million, 755.8% more than in the first four months of last year. In this period, spending by international tourists increased more than ninefold (+840.7%) compared to the same period in 2021, reaching 18,753 million euros.
The main tourist-sending countries in the first four months of the year were the United Kingdom (over 3 million tourists and an annual increase of 3,610.5%), Germany (with almost 2.3 million and an increase of 575.6%) and France (with over 2.1 million, up 418.2%). Catalonia was the main destination for tourists to Spain last April, with 19% of the total. It was followed by the Canary Islands (18.2%) and the Balearic Islands (17.5%). Nearly 1.2 million tourists arrived in Catalonia, 1,137.5% more than in April 2021. The main countries of residence of tourists from this community were France (with 23.3% of the total) and the rest of Europe (15.4%).
According to INE data, the number of tourists visiting the Canary Islands increased by 914.4% to 1.1 million. 36.4% came from the United Kingdom and 19.8% from Germany. The third community by number of tourists was the Balearic Islands, with nearly 1.1 million and an annual increase of 758.7%. Germany was the main country of origin (with 39.6% of the total), followed by the United Kingdom (19.9%). In the other regions, the number of tourists increased by 996.6% in Comunitat Valenciana, 993.4% in Andalusia and 735.8% in Comunidad de Madrid. In the first four months of 2022, the communities that received the most tourists were the Canary Islands (with almost 4 million and an increase of 968.3% compared to the same period in 2021), Catalonia (with more than 2.9 million and an increase of 823.2%) and Andalusia (with almost 2.3 million, an increase of 966.2%).
