3 January 2025

Tourist Movements at Borders (FRONTUR)

November 2024. Provisional data

Main Results

  • Spain received 5.7 million international tourists in November, 10.3% more than in the same month of 2023.
  • In the first 11 months of 2024, the number of international tourists visiting Spain peaked, reaching 88.5 million.

Spain received in November the visit of 5.7 million international tourists, 10.3% more than in the same month of 2023.

In the first 11 months of 2024 the number of tourists that visited Spain increased by 10.7% and exceeded 88.5 million. This is the highest figure since the INE's Frontur records began.

International tourists arrivals by months

Annual variation. Percentage

The United Kingdom was the main country of residence, with one million tourists, an increase of 5.5% compared to November 2023. There were 751,182 tourists from France (17.4% more) and 650,733 from Germany (4.4% more).

International tourists arrivals (*) by country of residence. November 2024

(*) Does not include transit travellers or same-day visitors (excursionists).
(**) Includes the estimate for Russia.

The main sending countries during the first 11 months were the United Kingdom (with over 17.5 million tourists and an increase of 7.1%), France (with over 12.2 million and an increase of 11.5%) and Germany (with more than 11.3 million, 8.5% more).

Main type of accommodation and other characteristics of the trips

The number of tourists who chose market accommodation as their main type of accommodation increased by 8.0% in annual terms. Within this type, hotel accommodation increased by 5.7% and rented accommodation by 24.5%, while non-market accommodation increased by 18.8%.

International tourist arrivals by type of accommodation. November 2024

Four to seven nights was the main duration of stay among tourists, with almost 2.7 million and an annual increase of 10.4%. The number of visitors increased by 13.5% among non-overnight visitors (excursionists) and by 16.7% among tourists with a longer duration (more than 15 nights).

Almost 4.5 million tourists travelled without a package tour in November, an increase of 13.4%. Nearly 1.2 million tourists travelled with a tourist package, 0.2% more.

Autonomous communities of main destination

Canarias was the main tourists destination in November, with 25.6% of the total. It was followed by Cataluña (22.2%) and Andalucía (13.7%).

8.6% more tourists visited Canarias than in November 2023. The number of tourists visiting Cataluña increased by 9.7% and 8.7% more tourists came to Andalucía.

International tourist arrivals by main Autonomous Community of destination. Monthly and cumulative data. November 2024

In the accumulated first 11 months of 2024 the Autonomous Communities that received the most tourists were Cataluña (with over 18.9 million and an increase of 9.9% as compared with the same period of 2023), Illes Balears (with over 15.1 million and an increase of 6.1%) and Canarias (13.8 million, 9.6% more).

Data revisions and updates

The data published today are provisional and will be revised in March next year. All results of this operation are available on INEbase.

Methodological note

The main objective of the Tourist Movement on Borders Survey (FRONTUR) is to estimate the number of non-residents visiting Spain on a monthly basis, as well as to know the main characteristics of the trips made by these visitors. The international definitions and recommendations of the UNWTO and EUROSTAT in this field are followed when preparing the FRONTUR.

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 travellers, by road, airport, port and rail.
Reference period of the results:
the month.
Sample size:
the annual theoretical sample size of FRONTUR exceeds 450,000 surveys, which are distributed throughout the year, taking into account the seasonality of passenger flows.
Sampling type:
strata have been defined for each form of entry that group together border points, airports, ports and railway lines. In determining the road and airport sample, the day of the week in which the survey has been carried out is also identified, differentiating between working days, weekends and holidays. In airports, 21 air relations are defined (Spanish airport of origin-country of destination airport).
Collection method:
information is collected by direct interview when the traveller leaves Spain, using a multilingual electronic questionnaire.

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

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

For further information see Inicio INEbase Official INE account on @es_ine
All press releases at:
www.ine.es/en/prensa/prensa_en.htm
Press office:
(+34) 91 583 93 63 / 94 08gprensa@ine.es
Information area:
(+34) 91 583 91 00www.ine.es/infoine/?L=1