Spain foreign tourist numbers break record in early 2025

Spain hosted a grounds 94 cardinal overseas tourists successful 2024. Photo: Jaime REINA / AFP
Source: AFP

Spain welcomed a grounds 17 cardinal overseas tourists successful the archetypal 3 months of 2025 arsenic the buoyant assemblage drives an economy outshining European peers, authoritative information showed connected Monday.

The 17.1 cardinal overseas tourists arriving successful Spain from January to March was a 5.7-percent summation connected the aforesaid play successful 2024, the National Statistics Institute said.

Britain, France and Germany supplied the astir holidaymakers to the world's 2nd most-visited country, which past twelvemonth hosted a grounds 94 cardinal overseas tourists seeking its sun, beaches and culture.

Spending by overseas tourists besides climbed 7.2 percent to 23.5 cardinal euros ($26.7 billion), the tourism ministry said successful a statement, a invited improvement for the authorities which wants visitors to splash much currency during their stay.

The tourer assemblage was 1 of the drivers of Spain's standout maturation of 3.2 percent successful 2024, good supra the EU fig of 1 percent.

But the bonanza has sparked a increasing backlash among locals who kick that an unsustainable influx of overseas visitors is driving up rents, saturating infrastructure and changing the cloth of neighbourhoods.

Spain aims to "diversify" destinations, marque the assemblage little babelike connected cardinal seasons and "share retired the benefits" crossed the country, Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu said successful a statement.

Source: AFP