Current press release at:https://www.ine.es/dyngs/Prensa/en/EGATUR1223.htm
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2 February 2024

Total expenditure survey

December 2023 and year 2023. Provisional data

Main results

  • The total expenditure of international tourists who visited Spain in December increased by 35.4% and reached 7,093 million euros.
  • The average daily expenditure increased by 2.3% to 149 euros.
  • During 2023, the total expenditure of international tourists reached 108,662 million euros, 24.7% more than the previous year.

More information

The total expenditure of international tourists visiting Spain in December reached 7,093 million euros, an increase of 35.4% when compared to the same month in 2022. This figure stood by 41.6% more than in the same month of 2019.

The average expenditure per tourist stood at 1,362 euros, with an annual increase of 7.3%. On the other hand, the average daily expenditure increased by 2.3%, up to 149 euros.

Annual variation rate of total international tourist expenditure. December 2023

Annual variation. Percentage

Sending countries

The main sending countries in terms of the level of expenditure in December were the United Kingdom (with 15.3% of the total), Germany (11.2%) and France (8.6%).

The expenditure of tourists from the United Kingdom increased by 28.7% at an annual rate, by those from Germany by 28.8% and by those from France by 17.5%.

International tourist expenditure by country of residence. December 2023

Expenditure items

Expenditure on activities was the most important item in December, with 23.8% of the total expenditure and an increase of 32.1% compared to the same month in 2022.

The following items were expenditure on international transport (not included in package tours) and maintenance, which accounted for 19.8% and 16.5% of the total, respectively. The former increased by 41.7% and the latter by 35.7%.

International tourist expenditure by expenditure categories. December 2023

Type of accommodation, method of organization and reason for the trip

50.6% of the total expenditure in December was made by tourists staying at hotels, with an annual rise of 20.6%. On the other hand, expenditure on non-rented accommodation increased by 50.6%.

Expenditure by tourists not travelling with a tourist package increased by 35.7% in the annual rate. For those who contracted a package tour, it increased by 34.4%.

In terms of the reasons for travel, tourists visiting Spain for leisure generated 76.4% of the total expenditure, with a 35.2% higher outlay than in December 2022.

 

International tourist expenditure by main type of accommodation, method of organization and main purpose of the trip. December 2023

(*): Two main groups of accommodation are distinguished according to whether or not there has been a monetary transaction: market (paid accommodation: hotels, rental accommodation, camping, rural house and other market accommodation) or non-market (owned housing, family and friends housing and other non-market accommodation).

Autonomous communities of main destination

The Autonomous Communities of main destination with the greatest proportion of total tourist expenditure in December were Canarias (with 29.5% of the total), Cataluña (17.3%) and Comunidad de Madrid (15.0%). Tourist spending increased by 25.0% in annual rate in the Canary Islands, 39.4% in Catalonia and 39.2% in the Community of Madrid.

International tourist expenditure according to the autonomous community of the main destination. December 2023

Results for the whole year 2023

The total expenditure of non-resident tourists visiting Spain in 2023 came to 108,662 million euros, representing an increase of 24.7% when compared with 2022. If this figure is compared with 2019, total expenditure was 18.2% higher.

Total annual expenditure. Year 2023

Millions of euros

The country accounting for the most expenditure in 2023 was the United Kingdom, with 19,947 million euros, 16.3% more than in 2023. 

It was followed by Germany (with 12,978 million euros and an increase of 12.6%) and France (with 9,767 million, 19.7% more). 

The autonomous communities attracting the highest total expenditure in 2023 were Cataluña (with 20,878 million, 26.7% more than in 2022), Canarias (with 20,334 million and an increase of 16.5%) and Illes Balears (with 17,722 million, 16.4% more than in 2022). 

 

Total expenditure by main destination Autonomous Community. Year 2023

Percentage.

Review and update of data

The data published today is provisional and will be revised in March. These results are available at INEBase.

Methodological note

The main objective of the Tourist Expenditure Survey (EGATUR) is to obtain monthly information on the tourist expenditure made by non-residents in Spain in their trips to our country.

For the preparation of EGATUR the international definitions and recommendations of the UNWTO and Eurostat in this field are followed.

Type of operation:
continuous monthly statistics.
Population scope:
this refers to non-residents in Spain who enter our country, whether or not they have stayed overnight, as well as those who pass through our country in transit.
Geographical scope:
the entire national territory. The sample is collected at the main access points for non-resident travelers (road, airport, port and rail).
Reference period of the results:
the month.
Sample size:
The theoretical annual sample size of EGATUR exceeds 127,000 surveys, which are distributed throughout the year according to the seasonality of the flow of passengers and to the sample design, which is defined for each access road independently, setting a fraction of the sub-sampling from the FRONTUR sample.
Type of sampling:
Single stage, where the estimates of the FRONTUR survey are used as the target population to which the EGATUR data are elevated.
Collection method:
the collection of information is carried out by direct interview when the traveller leaves Spain, through a multilingual electronic questionnaire. It should be taken into account that visitors are surveyed when they leave the country, so that the information collected may refer to a period longer than the reference month..

For more information you can access the methodology and the standardized methodological report.

INE statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for European Statistics. More information in Quality at INE and the Code of Best Practices.

For further information see Inicio INEbase Official INE account on @es_ine
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