ACRONYMS National Statistics Institute
4 March 2024

Total expenditure survey

January 2024. Provisional data

Main results

  • The total expenditure of international tourists who visited Spain in January increased by 25.5% and reached 6,550 million euros.
  • The average daily expenditure increased by 6.0% to 158 euros.

The total expenditure of international tourists visiting Spain in January reached 6,550 million euros, an increase of 25.5% when compared to the same month in 2023.

The average expenditure per tourist stood at 1,374 euros, with an annual increase of 8.9%. On the other hand, the average daily expenditure increased by 6.0%, up to 158 euros.

Annual variation rate of total international tourist expenditure. January 2024

Annual variation. Percentage 

Sending countries

The main sending countries, in terms of level of expenditure in January were United Kingdom (with 16.4% of the total), Germany (11.4%) and Nordic countries (8.4%).

Expenditure by tourists from United Kingdom increased by 26.7% in the annual rate, by those from Germany by 25.5% and by those from Nordic countries by 14.4%.

International tourist expenditure by country of residence. January 2024

Expenditure items

Expenditure on activities was the most important item in January, with 23.5% of the total expenditure and an increase of 24.0% compared to the same month in 2023.

The following items were expenditure on international transport (not included in package tours) and maintenance, which accounted for 22.1% and 16.5% of the total, respectively. The former increased by 25.9% and the latter by 25.6%.

International tourist expenditure by expenditure categories. January 2024

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

53.3% of the total expenditure in January 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 22.5%.

Expenditure by tourists not travelling with a tourist package increased by 25.7% in the annual rate. For those who contracted a package tour, it increased by 24.9%.

In terms of the reasons for travel, tourists visiting Spain for leisure generated 80.5% of the total expenditure, with a 22.7% higher outlay than in January 2023.

International tourist expenditure by main type of accommodation, method of organization and main purpose of the trip. January 2024

(*): 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 January were Canarias (with 30.6% of the total), Comunidad de Madrid (17.7%) and Cataluña (16.0%). The annual rate of tourist expenditure increased by 17.0% in Cataluña, by 34.3% in Comunidad de Madrid and by 30.1% in Cataluña.

International tourist expenditure according to the autonomous community of the main destination. January 2024

Review and update of data

The data published today is provisional and will be revised March next year. 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: personal interviews when the traveler leaves Spain.

A more complete tabulation plan with the main series of aggregates, as well as the microdata file for the reference month, is available on the INE website.

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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