The second most visited country in the world, after France, Spain welcomed a record number of tourists over the summer, contributing to a record first 8 months of the year as well, according to data from the country’s national statistics institute (INE).
In July and August, 10.9 million international visitors went to Spain each month, cumulating to the record 21.8 million over the two months that INE considers summer. This represents a 7.3% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Almost 20% came from the UK, with 4.17 million Brits going to Spain for a sunny getaway. These were followed by French, Germans and Italians, with 3.75 million, 2.49 million and 1.35 million, respectively. Although lower in numbers compared to their European counterparts, counting just 850,000, tourists from the US increased in number by 13% compared to last year.
Moreover, from January to August, a record 64.8 million tourists visited Spain, paving the way for a record-breaking year, expected to round up at 90 million international visitors. The visitors brought in €86.7 billion to the country’s economy, a 17.6% increase compared to the same period in 2023, and the equivalent of each person spending €187 per day.
While Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu hailed the figures as “a great success for the wellbeing, social cohesion and economic development of Spain”, she also admitted the sector’s need to “transform” its model, as the country has been taken over by mass overtourism protests.
At the beginning of July, Barcelona residents sprayed visitors with water guns in a protest against mass tourism. The city has been struggling to moderate tourist footfall for years. Measures were taken to tackle large groups of tourists in 2022, while a busy bus route has been hidden from google maps to ensure residents, especially the elderly, can find a place. In the latest move, mayor Jaume Collboni has promised short term rentals will disappear from the city by 2028. The 10,101 apartments currently approved as tourist lets should have their licences scrapped in the next 4 year.
Other Spanish destinations are also confronted with the downsides of mass tourism. In April, residents of the Canary Islands staged a hunger strike, citing the environmental disaster left behind by tourists, with golf courses, swimming pools and other developments sucking up huge amounts of water in an era when water shortages are becoming more frequent.
In May, anti-tourism protests were staged throughout the Balearic Islands, with hundreds of people taking to the streets of Menorca, 1,000 in Ibiza and 10,000 in Palma de Mallorca, with another 20,000 people taking to the streets of Mallorca on 21 July.
