Spain received 6.1 million international tourists in April, an almost tenfold jump from a year ago, according to official data released on Wednesday.
In April, Spain recovered 85.4% of the international tourists who arrived in the same month of 2019, after receiving 6.1 million tourists who spent €6,901 million on their trips, close to the figures of three years ago, according to data released by the National Statistics Institute in its Frontur/Egatur surveys.
“Easter has consolidated the rapid and intense reactivation of the tourism sector, exceeding our own expectations. We are also receiving tourists who stay longer in our country and, as a consequence, spend more on their trip, which indicates that we are moving towards a higher quality and more profitable tourism model. Despite the uncertainty of the war and its consequences, Spain is among the preferred international travel destinations and our forecasts for the summer season indicate that we will recover pre-pandemic levels,” said the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto.
Average stay increases by almost a day
The 6,102,142 tourists who visited Spain in April stayed in our country for an average of 7.3 days, almost a day longer than three years ago, when the average stay was 6.4 days. Consequently, the average expenditure per tourist increased by 15%, from 987 euros to 1,131 euros.
Two out of every ten international tourists who travelled to Spain in April came from the United Kingdom, a market that shows a recovery of 85% compared to April 2019, reaching a figure of 1,246,136 tourists. It is followed by Germany with 989,807 tourists (and a recovery rate of 92%) and France with 826,193 tourists (and a recovery rate of 81%).
Markets like Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland are already sending out more tourists than prior to the pandemic.
Main destinations
Three autonomous communities each received more than one million international tourists: Catalonia (1,157,526), the Canary Islands (1,110,097) and the Balearic Islands (1,070,195). These communities were followed by Andalusia (907,596 tourists), Valencia (783,987) and Madrid (545,975).
The British chose the Canary Islands, Valencia, Andalusia and the Balearic Islands as their preferred destinations, while the Germans opted above all for the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, the French for Catalonia and Valencia, and the Latin American markets for Madrid.
Of the total expenditure of these tourists, 59.1% corresponds to travellers who stayed overnight in hotel accommodation, while the main item of expenditure was activities (21.3% of the total), followed by international transport not included in tourist packages (19.9%) and meals (17.5%).
