SPAIN received a record 5. 1 million foreign tourists in November, adding almost one million from the UK.
Figures published on Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) show a growth of 18. 6% compared to the same month in 2022 and 10. 5% compared to 2019, which was the previous record.
Expenditure reached €6. 65 billion, an increase of 23. 6% up to November 2022 and 31. 4% more than in the same month of 2019.
Foreign guest arrivals totaled 79. 8 million between January and November, 0. 8% more than in 2019, just before the pandemic and which was a record year at the time.
Spending in those months is 17% higher than it was five years ago.
The Canary Islands were the most sensitive destination in November with 25. 9% of the total.
It is followed by Catalonia (22. 3%) and Andalusia (14. 0%).
The figures imply that the tourism sector has fully recovered from Covid-19 and the December figures confirm this when they are released in a few weeks’ time.
Tourism is a component of the Spanish economy and despite inflation and more expensive mortgages, the number of visitors has not decreased.
The figures for October and November also reflect the evolution of the number of foreign visitors arriving in Spain outside the classic summer season.
The UK was the top country of origin in November, with almost one million tourists, an increase of 15. 2% from the previous year.
Visitors from France amounted to 0. 6 million (an increase of 9. 0%) and from Germany to 0. 6 million (an increase of 18. 5%).
In the first months of 2023, the UK recorded more than 16. 4 million arrivals, up 14. 4% from 2022.
Spending has been higher than in 2019 for months, with inflation also being felt in the sector with emerging costs and costs in hotels, transport, restaurants and leisure.
The year 2019 ended with an expenditure of 92,270 million euros and last year, in the first months, it reached 101,560 million euros, 24% more than in 2022 and 17% above 2019 levels.
In November, according to the INE, the average expenditure corresponding to tourists was 1,294 euros, with an annual increase of 4. 2%, while the average daily expenditure rose 4. 1%, to 173 euros.