Mabrian, a tourism intelligence company, has published a new study called ‘The impact of American tourists in Spain’, which collects and analyses data relating to the stays of United States visitors during the summer of 2022 to Spain.
The study includes information such as the types of tourists, the profile (age, economic level, level of studies), the average stay, the interests and the visits and activities that have aroused their interest during their visit to Spanish destinations. In total, data from 38,933 tourists from the US from June to August 2022 have been studied and analysed. Specifically, the study looked at those who visited the destinations of Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Seville, Menorca and Tenerife.
The US market is one of the most interesting for European destinations, since it is clearly recovering supported by the beneficial euro-dollar exchange rate and the increase in air connectivity.
Carlos Cendra, Director of Marketing and Sales at Mabrian
The study shows that half of the American tourists visiting Spain over the summer came mainly from 10 cities: New York (14%), Miami (9%) and Los Angeles (6%), followed by San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Orlando and Dallas. From these cities, demand was concentrated in three or four specific neighbourhoods. Half of the visitors were over 35 years old, had an average salary of more than 75,000 dollars and had completed university studies.
Most Americans who visited urban destinations stayed between two and three days, but between 4 and 7 days when visiting Spanish islands such as Menorca or Tenerife. In general, US tourists visited 15 of Spain’s 50 different provinces over the summer.
“It is very interesting to analyse the impact that the new air routes with destinations such as Mallorca, Tenerife and the recently announced Malaga route are generating, not only with these destinations, but also with the rest of the destinations in these regions. In this instance, for example, knowing that half of US visitors come from just 10 states and that their socioeconomic profile is high makes marketing campaigns for a Spanish destination much easier”, said Carlos Cendra, Director of Marketing and Sales at Mabrian.
As always, knowing what experience visitors really have is vital to growing and improving the service offered by the destination.
Carlos Cendra, Director of Marketing and Sales at Mabrian
When asked if they stayed in the destination they were travelling to or moved within the territory, approximately 30% of the respondents said they moved to more than one destination whilst in Spain. Barcelona was the city that kept Americans most captive, while Seville was one of the destinations visited mostly in combination with others.
The tourist experiences that most interested US visitors were related to gastronomy, shopping and active luxury, such as outdoor activities and physical exercise. Likewise, culture and green spaces were also part of the greatest interests of Americans when they visited Spain. The study participants stayed mostly in establishments and hotels of 4 and 5 stars.
Lastly, looking at data based on comments and positive or negative mentions on social media, the aspects that most add value to Americans in Spain are the perception of security, the climate, as well as their satisfaction with hotel properties, highlighting location and cleanliness. Those that detract from the experience and have room for improvement were mainly services related to tourism product satisfaction, such as art and culture, nature, family activities, shopping and well-being.
