(Madrid) Second destination in the world after France, Spain welcomed 21.8 million visitors this summer, the highest figure in its history, despite demonstrations against overtourism which have been increasing for several months in the country.
According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), 10.9 million international tourists visited the country in July, and another 10.9 million in August. This is 7.3% more than over the same period of 2023, the year of the previous record.
The bulk of them came from the United Kingdom (4.17 million), France (3.75 million), Germany (2.49 million) and Italy (1.35 million). The number of American tourists increased significantly (+13%), with 858,000 entries recorded.
Over the first eight months of the year, Spain received a total of 64.8 million tourists, also a record according to the INE. Their main destination was Catalonia (13.5 million), ahead of the Balearic Islands (11.2 million) and the Canary Islands (9.9 million).
This dynamic was accompanied by a sharp increase in tourist spending, which reached 86.7 billion euros over eight months ($129.4 billion), with an average of 187 euros per day per tourist (279 $). This level is 17.6% higher than that of 2023.
These large expenditures are “a great success for the well-being, social cohesion and economic development of Spain”, welcomed the Minister of Tourism Jordi Hereu, during an event organized by the promotion agency of Turespaña tourism in Tenerife, Canary Islands.
“We must continue to focus on the diversification, deconcentration and deseasonalization of our tourism offer,” added the minister, who wants the sector to move upmarket, still strongly oriented towards the “sol et playa” model.
“Meaningless” speeches
This record attendance comes as movements against overtourism have been increasing for several months in the country, particularly in Barcelona (Catalonia), Malaga (Andalusia), the Balearic Islands and the Canary archipelago.
The demonstrators denounce infrastructure congestion, pollution, noise pollution, but also and above all the soaring rents, while many property owners are turning to tourist rentals, which are much more profitable.
In a press release published last week, the “Canviem el rumb” (“Let’s change direction”) platform criticized the lack of real questioning of the Spanish tourism model, “a monoculture that colonizes the territory and the people who live there. live.”
“We hear triumphalist” and “empty” speeches about tourism that is “sustainable, inclusive, circular, regenerative, etc. », Underlined this Balearic association, during an event organized on the island of Ibiza.
However, “these speeches deny, minimize or actively ignore the denunciation of the social, environmental and climatic impacts of tourist activity,” she ruled.
Faced with the surge of anger among residents, several regions have taken measures to curb the problem, like Barcelona, which announced on June 21 that it wanted to put an end to the rental of tourist apartments by 2029 to facilitate residents’ access to housing.
An approach encouraged by the Spanish left-wing government, which is working on the creation of a register of tourist and seasonal accommodation in order to fight against the illegal rental of certain apartments, which could be operational in spring 2025.
According to the employers’ organization Exceltur, Spain should welcome 90 million foreign tourists in 2024, thanks to a strong increase in attendance in the Basque Country and Andalusia. This is significantly more than the record of 85.1 million reached last year.
Revenues generated by tourism should exceed the mark of 200 billion euros ($298.5 billion), including spending by domestic tourists. This would bring the contribution of tourism to the Spanish economy to 13.2%, says Exceltur.