Spain has set an all-time record in terms of inbound tourists with 54.4 million visiting Spain in the first nine months of the year, in other words, 2 million additional tourists, posting growth of 3.8% on the same period last year, according to FRONTUR – the Inbound Tourism Survey, drafted by the General Sub-directorate of Tourism Information and Studies of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism.
The United Kingdom, with 12.7 million tourists, followed by France, with 9.1 million and Germany, with 8.2 million, were the top emitting markets in the first nine months of the year. Noteworthy increases were posted by the United States, up 23.1%, Switzerland, up 8.6% and France, up 6.9%.
All the main autonomous regions posted year-on-year rises, with the Region of Madrid posting the highest rise, up 10.8%, followed by Andalusia, up 6.6% and the Region of Valencia, up 4.2%.
If the trends over the summer months, between June and September, are analysed, Spain beat the previous record of 31.8 million inbound tourists in 2014, by almost 1 million (898,855), over the same period.
The month of September once again posted a new record since the FRONTUR survey began, with 7,166,208 inbound tourists and a year-on-year increase of 2.2%.
In September, the United Kingdom was once again the leading emitting market, with 1,854,995 inbound tourists to Spain, up 4.6%, followed by Germany, with 1,186,463, down 3.4% and France, with 1,018,970, up 5.2%. Noteworthy rises were posted in inbound tourists by the United States, up 33%, which maintains its excellent rate of growth over the last few months, as well as by the Netherlands, up 13.3% and France, up 5.2%.
Catalonia was the top destination region for tourists visiting Spain in September, with 1,797,996 tourists, a decline of 0.1%, followed by the Balearic Islands, with 1,692,080 tourists, down 0.2%, while Andalusia, with 1,012,448 tourists, posted a rise of 6.4%
