Spain hits record 11m tourists in a month

Dhaka: Despite growing anti-tourism sentiment and mounting environmental concerns, Spain recorded its highest-ever monthly influx of international visitors this summer. 

In July alone, the country welcomed 11 million tourists — the most in its history. Since the start of the year, a total of 55.5 million visitors have travelled to Spain, underscoring the resilience of its tourism sector.

Officials said, tourism has brought in €76 billion for Spain so far this year — a 7.2pc rise compared to the same period in 2024 — highlighting the sector's continued importance to the national economy. 

The UK, France, and Germany remain the top source countries for visitors. However, growth in July was modest at just 1.6pc, raising concerns that the post-pandemic travel boom may be beginning to lose momentum.

Besides, in the first seven months of the year, Spain welcomed over 55.5 million international visitors, up 4.1pc year-on-year. 

This reflects a clear trend: spending by international travellers is growing faster than the number of arrivals, a pattern that has persisted for the past three months.

The United Kingdom was the leading source market in terms of total expenditure, accounting for 17.6pc of all spending, followed by Germany (11.7pc) and France (8.1pc). 

By regions, the Canary Islands (18.5pc), Catalonia (18.2pc) and the Balearic Islands (15.3pc) led the ranking for accumulated tourist expenditure.

The Balearic Islands were the leading destination for international tourists in July, welcoming 2.57 million visitors (+1pc). 

Catalonia received 2.35 million (-1.2pc), Andalusia 1.54 million (+5.5pc), the Valencian Community 1.49 million (+1.4pc), the Canary Islands 1.23 million (+6pc), and Madrid 719,000 (-3.1pc).

Other regions combined received 1.12 million international visitors, up 2.3pc compared with July 2024.

-B