Tourism in Spain is a major contributor to national economic life, with foreign and domestic tourism contributing to about 12.4% of Spain's GDP (in 2019).[1] Ever since the 1960s and 1970s, the country has been a popular destination for summer holidays, especially with large numbers of tourists from the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, the Benelux, and the United States, among others. Accordingly, Spain's foreign tourist industry has grown into the second-biggest in the world.[2]
In 2023, Spain was the second most visited country in the world, recording more than 85 million tourists which marked the seventh consecutive year of record-beating numbers.[3][4][5] Due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, only 18.9 million tourists visited Spain. These dramatic figures are devastating for the tourism sector and are a reflection of what will be the worst year for this industry in terms of income ever recorded.[6] However, by 2022 the industry had mostly recovered, with 71,659,281 international tourists and increasing.[7]
Spain ranks first among 140 countries in the biannual Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index published by the World Economic Forum in 2019,[8] matching the top position already achieved in 2017[9] and 2015.[10]
The World Tourism Organization has its headquarters in Madrid.
According to The Economist 2005 year list, Spain has the world's 10th highest quality of life.[11]
In March 2023, more than 6.5 million international passengers arrived in Spain, marking a growth of 30% compared to 2022.[12]
- ^ "Tourism in the economy and outlook for recovery in Spain" (PDF). oecd-ilibrary.org. OECD.
- ^ [1] Archived 6 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Spain sets tourism record with 85.1 million foreign visitors in 2023". 4 February 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Spain tourist arrivals mark record for 6th straight year in 2018: minister". Reuters. 16 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ "Spain closes 2019 with a new record number of international tourists and spending exceeded €92.20 billion". 3 February 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "España pierde 61 millones de visitantes hasta noviembre". 5 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ "España - Turismo internacional". Retrieved 14 April 2023.
- ^ "Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019". Retrieved 4 September 2019.
- ^ "Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017". Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ^ "Index Results—The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index Ranking 2015". Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ "The Economist Intelligence Unit's quality-of-life index" (PDF). The Economist. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
- ^ "Spain Registered Over 6.5 Million International Passengers in March, 30% More Than in 2022". 19 April 2023.