The positive forecasts that hotels, airlines and travel agencies had for the high season for tourism in Spain have been confirmed. Tourism experienced its best July ever, receiving 10.85 million travellers, which is the highest figure for that month, far from the 10.49 million achieved in 2017, according to figures released by the National Institute of Statistics. Similarly, spending by travellers also reached a record high, soaring by 12% annually to 15.535 billion euros, which represented an increase of 1.682 billion euros compared to the previous record, reached in July 2023.

In the first seven months of 2024, tourist arrivals soared by 12% to 53.3 million, in line with the growth recorded in previous months, which suggests that this year could close with a new historical high of foreign travellers, which could reach 95 million. Meanwhile, spending between January and July increased by 18% to 71.108 billion euros, also anticipating a year-end that could take this indicator to 130 billion euros. “The significant increase in spending by international travellers visiting our country confirms that tourism, thanks to the effort and work of everyone, continues to drive the country's economy, generating wealth and employment in the sector,” said the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu.

By source market, the United Kingdom continued to be the most important in the first month of the high season, contributing just over two million travellers, 18.8% of the total. The main change occurred in second position, to which France climbs, with 1.6 million travellers, with 14.8% of the total, far from the 1.2 million travellers and the 11.1% share registered by Germany, which falls back to third position. This overtaking also occurs in the period between January and July, as France consolidates its position as the second largest source of tourism, with seven million travellers.